Susanna Mandruzzato
Program of Immunochemistry:
Characteristics of the immune system, innate and adaptive immunity.
Identification of the pathogens by cells of the innate immunity: PAMP and PRR. Toll-like receptors.
Cells of the immune system. Haemopoiesis: regulation, sites of haemopoiesis, growth factors involved. Stem cells, progenitor cells and differentiated cells. Process of differentiation of leukocytes.
Antigen and antibody, the recognition of antigen. Structure of the antibody molecule. The interaction of the antibody molecule with specific antigen. Affinity and avidity of an antibody molecule.
The humoral immune response, primary and secondary response and relative characteristics. Thymus-dependant and thymus-independent antigens.
Policlonal and monoclanal antibodies. Production of monoclonal antibodies. Chimeric and humanized monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies as drugs.
B lymphocyte activation. Antibody production by B lymphocytes. Signal transduction in B lymphocytes and its consequences.
Germinal center and affinity maturation.
Effector mechanisms of the humoral immunity. Neutralization of pathogens and of toxin. Opsonization and phagocytosis.
The complement system in humoral immunity. The classical pathway and the alternative pathway. Fc receptor-bearing cells in humoral immunity.
Infection and innate immunity. Viral infections: role of IFNs and NK cells.
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC): gene organization, nomenclature, structure of MHC molecules and their biological function. HLA typing: serological and molecular typing, mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR).
The T-cell receptor gene rearrangement and receptor expression. Generation of B cells.
Vaccination against infectious disease.
Tumor immunology: the immune surveillance hypothesis, the existence of tumor antigens and their nature. Identification of tumor antigens. Vaccination with tumor antigens.
Flow cytometry: principle of the technique and application in Immunology. Immune-Fluorescence: principles, procedures, applications.