Inflammasomes, Kaposi's Sarcoma and bad design

Many inflammatory factors work in the innate response to cause inflammation; a process that leads to mechanisms which combine to stop or eliminate the offending pathogen. Some factors which work together during inflammation are called, as a group, the inflammasome. The inflammasome can help promote apoptosis in viral infected cells. Kaposi's sarcoma , a cancer which is often found in AIDs patients, is caused by a virus which has developed a way to survive the inflammasome and prevent apoptosis and survive inside cells.


1 Describe the components of the inflammasome.
2 Describe how the Kaposi virus causes cancer.
3 Describe how the Kaposi virus evades the inflammasome.
4 Inflammation causes a lot of illness in humans in our society today.  In some cases inflammation can cause illness even without the presence of a pathogen.  Is this evidence of bad design? Discuss.

Due October 16

Comparative Immunology

The mammalian immune system appears to be the most complex of all known animal and plant immune systems.  In fact, invertebrates do not possess in general most aspects and the adaptive immune system.  Some creatures like fish possess some antibodies but not the full repertoire of antibodies and other factors found in mammalian systems....thus fish appear to possess a "transitional" immune system. 

 

Mammals and humans require the adaptive immune system for survival.  And even though invertebrates don't appear to require the adaptive system for survival they do display some immune responses consistent with the adaptive immune response...i.e, rejection of transplanted tissue.

 

Discuss the evolution and design aspects of the immune systems found in plants, invertebrates, mammals and fish.  Do fish really possess a "transitional" immune system? Do any truly "intermediate" adaptive immune systems exist? Do you see design features inherent in the invertebrate immune system which appears to function without an adaptive system?

 

DUE Sept 28

 

 

One of the things we will note about the mammalian immune system in this course is how it displays redundancy. What I mean by this is that the immune system possesses many different mechanisms to remove or neutralize pathogens. For instance, the complement system is a blood born system that is like a mini-immune system all by itself. It has components which can bind and neutralize or kill bacteria. But so can many other parts of the immune system like leukocytes and antibodies and other enzymatic factors.

Why is the immune system so redundant? Is this inefficient design? If so, is the immune system better explained by an evolutionary origin? Or is redundancy an example of something you would find in a designed system? Discuss your thoughts with your classmates and others who might join the blog.

This blog is due SEPT 15!!