Immune intervention

===Lecture Details===
James Goding; Week 12 MED1011; Immunology
===Lecture Content===
Immunisation is provoking immune responses. Ethics of clinical trials have a review protocol, phase 1 trial for safety, phase 2 trial for efficacy, phase 3 large scale trial. Principle of immunisation is previous encounter with live organism, attenuated organism, inactivated toxin which leads to immunological memory, second encounter is stronger, faster, longer. Good at preventing disease where there is no animal reservoir. Nightmare scenario is high transmissability with extreme virulence.
Preventing specific immune responses in blood transfusion is done by matching donor and recipient. ABO antigens are simple carbohydrate molecules (provoke only IgM, IgM does not cross the placenta). Rh system has 2 genes, 3 alleles of each; can be positive or negative. Rh antigens are protein; IgG.
Preventing specific immune responses in organ transplants involve HLA. Has hundreds of different alleles. Immunosuppressive drugs are used. Rejection can be controlled by steroids, cyclosporin, side effects are severe.
Prevention of Rh sensitisation by giving anti-Rh antibodies to prevent sensitisation. From women who have already been sensitised, need to get animal vector; or males; make anti-Rh by genetic engineering.
Snake bite is treated with horse antibodies, can cause anaphylaxis and serum sickness
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