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11.3: Immediate Innate Immunity

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Immediate innate immunity begins 0-4 hours after exposure to an infectious agent and involves the action of soluble preformed antimicrobial molecules that circulate in the blood, our found in extracellular tissue fluids, and are secreted by epithelial cells. These include: antimicrobial enzymes and peptides, and complement system proteins. These preformed antimicrobial molecules are designed to immediately begin to remove infectious agents as soon as they enter the body. In addition to preformed antimicrobial molecules, the following also play a role in immediate innate immunity: anatomical barriers to infection, mechanical removal of microbes, and bacterial antagonism by the body's normal microbiota

  • 11.3A: Antimicrobial Enzymes and Antimicrobial Peptides
    Immediate innate immunity begins 0-4 hours after exposure to an infectious agent and involves the action of soluble preformed antimicrobial molecules that circulate in the blood and are found in extracellular tissue fluids. Lysozyme, found in in tears, mucous, saliva, plasma, tissue fluid, etc., breaks down peptidoglycan  in bacteria causing osmotic lysis. Phospholipase A2 is an enzyme that penetrates the bacterial cell wall and hydrolyzes the phospholipids in the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane.
  • 11.3B: The Complement System
    The complement system refers to a series of more than 30 soluble, preformed proteins circulating in the blood and bathing the fluids surrounding tissues. The proteins circulate in an inactive form, but in response to the recognition of molecular components of microorganism, they become sequentially activated, working in a cascade where in the binding of one protein promotes the binding of the next protein in the cascade.
  • 11.3C: Anatomical Barriers to Infection, Mechanical Removal of Microbes, and Bacterial Antagonism by Normal Body Microbiota
    Anatomical barriers such as the skin, the mucous membranes, and bony encasements are tough, intact barriers that prevent the entry and colonization of many microbes. Mechanical removal is the process of physically flushing microbes from the body. Examples include mucus and cilia, coughing and sneezing, vomiting and diarrhea, and the flushing action of bodily fluids. The normal microbiota keeps potentially harmful opportunistic pathogens in check.


This page titled 11.3: Immediate Innate Immunity is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gary Kaiser via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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