At the end of this course, the student must:
Understand how our immune system can recognize pathogens
Understand how our immune system fights an infection (virus, intracellular bacteria, extracellular bacteria, worms, protozoa, etc.)
Understand how our immune system protects us from cancer
Understand why some people are more or less sensitive to certain pathogens
Understand how our immune system distinguishes between self and non-self
Understand the causes of autoimmune diseases
Understand the rejection mechanisms
Understand how pathogens escape the immune response
Understand how the memory of our immune response works
Understand how our immunity can improve to respond to a pathogen
This course aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the immune system, its mechanisms and its role in health and disease. The main objectives are:
Know the components of the immune system, such as cells (lymphocytes, macrophages, etc.), organs (lymph nodes, bone marrow, thymus, etc.), and molecules (antibodies, cytokines, etc.).
Distinguish between the different immune responses: innate immunity and adaptive immunity.
Study how the body detects (recognition of antigens) and eliminates infections caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites and other pathogens.
Understand how the immune system is controlled and modulated to avoid excessive reactions (as in allergies) or insufficient reactions.
Know the mechanisms of immune tolerance, that is, how the immune system avoids attacking its own cells (autoimmunity).
Explore autoimmune diseases, allergies and immunodeficiency. Study how the deregulation of the immune system contributes to the development of these pathologies.
Explore organ transplants and the role of immunological rejection.
The immune system is… a system! We will begin by detailing the different actors of this system (cells and organs) and the basic principles of its functioning (receptor and signal transduction). The course includes the study of non-specific means of defense (innate immunity) and specific responses to infectious agents (adaptive immunity). The emphasis is placed on the spatio-temporal dynamics of the immune system and on the numerous interactions that ensure its control. The immunology course goes beyond the framework of anti-infectious defense and allows us to grasp the intimate mechanism of numerous biological phenomena: hypersensitivity (allergy), anti-tumor response, autoimmune reaction or even transplant rejection.
Introduction
Cells and organs of the immune system
Receptors and transduction
Innate immunity
Complement
Development of naive B cells
Development of naive T cells
The major histocompatibility complex and antigen presentation
Activation and differentiation of T
Activation and differentiation of B
Humoral and cellular responses
Mucosal immunity
Immune response in space and time
Allergy, hypersensitivity and inflammation
Tolerance, autoimmunity and transplantation
Written examination covering the material seen in the theoretical courses and given during the practical work.
Janeway's Immunobiology 9th New edition Edition, Garland Science, by Kenneth Murphy and Casey Weaver, ISBN-13: 978-0815345510
Kuby Immunology, 7th edition, W. H. Freeman, by Judy Owen, Jenni Punt, Sharon Stranford and Patricia Jones, ISBN-13: 978-1464189784