OCR (A) Biology A-level

Topic 4.1: Communicable diseases, disease

prevention and the immune system
Notes

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 Pathogens
Bacteria and viruses are the main disease causing pathogens in humans. Even though they
both cause disease, they vary in many ways. Their differences are as following:

Bacteria are prokaryotic cells meaning that they have no membrane bound organelles and,
as such, do not have a nucleus – their genetic information is stored in the form of a circular
strand of DNA whereas viruses consist of just nucleic acid enclosed in a protein coat and
their genetic material can take the form of DNA or RNA

• Bacteria do not require a host to survive whereas viruses are entirely dependent
on their hosts and cannot survive without them

• Viruses are significantly smaller than bacteria

• Bacteria have a cell membrane, cell wall and cytoplasm as well as other organelles
such as ribosomes, plasmids, flagellum and pili whereas viruses possess no such
structures.

An example of a bacterial disease is tuberculosis also known as TB. TB is caused by a

bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis which infects phagocytes in the lungs. The
first infection is symptomless as the infected phagocytes are sealed in tubercles as a result of
inflammatory response in the lungs. However, the bacteria lie dormant inside the tubercles
as they are not destroyed by the immune system as tubercles are covered with a thick waxy
coat. When the immune system becomes weakened, the bacteria become active again and
slowly destroy the lung tissue thus leading to breathing problems, coughing, weight loss as
well as fever. TB can potentially lead to death.

Meningitis can be caused by bacterial infection of the meninges (a set of protective

membranes around the brain).

An example of a viral infection is HIV i.e. Human Immunodeficiency Virus which causes
AIDS. The first symptoms of HIV include fevers, tiredness and headaches. After several
weeks HIV antibodies appear in blood thus making a person HIV positive. After this period,
the symptoms disappear until the immune system becomes weakened again thus leading to
AIDS.

Another viral disease is influenza whereby the virus infects the ciliated epithelial cells of the
gas exchange system. There are different strains of influenza

Examples of diseases caused by other organisms include Athlete’s foot in humans which is
caused by a fungus and is spread by direct contact with the spores on the skin surface or
other surface and Malaria is an example of indirect transmission via vector in the form of a
female Anopheles mosquito.

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Plants are not immune to becoming infected. Tobacco mosaic virus infects tobacco plants, a
major crop worldwide. Potatoes can be affected by blight which is caused by a fungus and
bananas can also be affected by fungus causing Black Sigatoka

Plant defences against pathogens

Plants have evolved defences against pathogens which can either take the form of physical
or chemical defences.
Physical barriers of pathogen entry include cellulose cell walls, a lignin layer which
thickens the cell walls and waxy cuticles. Old vascular tissue is also blocked to prevent the
spread of pathogens inside the plant.

In a case where a pathogen is detected, various mechanisms are activated to prevent the
spread of infection through the plant. This includes closing of the stomata to prevent entry to
leaves, additional thickening of cell walls with cellulose, callose deposits between cell wall
and cell membrane near the site of infection to strengthen the cell wall.

Other mechanisms include necrosis which is when cells near the site of infection are killed
with the help of intracellular enzymes which are activated by injury, that is in a case where
cell damage occurs.
Another variation of necrosis is known as canker and this is the necrosis of woody tissue in
the main stem or branch.

Chemical defences include menthols produced by mint which are an example of

terpenoids- these are essential oils with antibacterial properties. Other examples include
phenols such as tannin which interfere with digestion thus inhibiting insects from attacking
the plant, alkaloids such as caffeine and morphine which have a bitter flavour- preventing
herbivores from feeding on the plant. Defensins are cysteine-rich proteins involved in
inhibition of transport channels whereas hydrolytic enzymes such as chitinases are
released with the purpose of breaking down the cell wall of an invading organism.

Primary non-specific defences in animals

Physical barriers to infection include:
• Skin is a tough physical barrier consisting of keratin
• Stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) which kills bacteria
• Gut and skin flora – natural bacterial flora compete with pathogens for food and
space
Non-specific responses of the body to infection include:

• Inflammation – histamines released by mast cells in injured tissue cause vasodilation

which increases the flow of blood to the infected area and increases permeability of
blood vessels. As a result of that antibodies, white blood cells and plasma leak out
into the infected tissue and destroy the pathogen

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 • Lysozyme action – lysozyme is an enzyme found in secretions such as tears and
mucus which kills bacterial cells by damaging their cell wall

• Interferon – interferons prevent viruses spreading to uninfected cells by stopping

protein synthesis in viruses

• Phagocytosis is a process in which white blood cells engulf pathogens thus

destroying them by fusing a pathogen such as bacteria enclosed in a phagocytic
vacuole with a lysosome.

• Blood clotting which reduces the blood loss by temporarily sealing the opening thus
preventing entry of pathogens
After the pathogen is engulfed and destroyed, its chemical markers called antigens are then
presented on the surface of the phagocyte. The phagocyte then becomes an antigen
presenting cell which activates other types of immune cells, immune response will be
stimulated if the antigen is recognised as foreign.

The specific immune response is antigen specific and produces responses specific to one
type of pathogen only. This type of immune response relies on lymphocytes produced in the
bone marrow:

• B cells mature in the bone marrow and are involved in the humoral response

• T cells move from the bone marrow to the thymus gland where they mature, they are
involved in cell mediated response

Specific immune response glossary:

• Memory cells are cells which replicate themselves when exposed to an invading
pathogen and remain in the lymph nodes searching for the same antigen thus resulting
in a much faster immune response
• B effector/plasma cells are antibody producing cells
• T helper cells stimulate B cells and T killer cells to divide
• T killer cells destroy pathogen infected cells

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 Humoral response

Figure 1 Wikipedia

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 Cell mediated response

Figure 2 Socratic

Antibodies
Antibodies are globular protein molecules produced by lymphocytes. Antibodies are
complementary in shape to a specific antigen, to which they attach and subsequently
inhibit its action. This process is known as neutralisation and can occur in a number of
ways, such as facilitating binding of phagocyte to pathogen, agglutination which is where
several antibodies bind together as well as neutralisation of toxins released by the pathogen.

Antibodies are composed of four polypeptide chains, which are linked together by
disulphide bridges. All antibodies possess a region known as the constant region which is
involved in phagocyte interaction to stimulate phagocytosis. Antibodies also possess a
variable region which differs for each type of antibody, of varying amino acid sequence
which is responsible for the specificity of antibody for one particular antigen. All antibodies
also contain hinge regions responsible for flexibility of the branches, which is important for
binding to multiple pathogens.

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 Types of immunity
Immunity can either be active or passive; active immunity results from the production of
antibodies by the immune system in response to the presence of an antigen whereas passive
immunity results from the introduction of antibodies from another person or animal.
There are also two subtypes of immunity; natural or artificial:

• Natural active immunity arises from being exposed to an antigen/getting the disease
whereas natural passive immunity is the result of crossing of mother’s antibodies
through the placenta and their presence in breast milk.

• Active artificial immunity is acquired through vaccinations which stimulate the

immune system and lead to production of antibodies whereas passive artificial
immunity is where antibodies are injected into the body.

Antibiotics
Antibiotics can also be used to fight infection by killing the bacteria and stopping their
growth. There are two types of antibiotics:

• Bactericidal antibiotics kill bacteria by destroying their cell wall thus causing them
to burst

• Bacteriostatic antibiotics which inhibit the growth of bacteria by stopping protein

synthesis and production of nucleic acids so the bacteria can’t grow and divide
However, some bacteria become resistant to antibiotics as a result of natural selection. The
bacteria which are not killed by the antibiotic possess a selective advantage – resistance
which enables them to survive and reproduce. Therefore, the allele for antibiotic resistance
is passed onto their offspring thus creating a resistant strain.

Resistance to antibiotics results in antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in hospitals such

as MRSA. Hospitals have developed various ways of controlling the spread of antibiotic
resistant infections, for example:

• New patients are screened at arrival, isolated and treated if they are infected to
prevent the spread of bacteria between patients
• Antibiotics are only used when needed and their course is completed to ensure
that all the bacteria are destroyed and to minimise the selection pressure on
bacteria to prevent resistant strains from forming

• All staff must follow the code of practice which includes strict hygiene regimes such
as washing hands with alcohol based antibacterial gels and wearing suitable
clothing which minimises the transmission of resistant bacteria

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