VACCINES: TRACING THE PATH FROM NEEDLE TO IMMUNITY

AUDIENCE AND SCOPE:

The audience of this description will be parents of children who need vaccinations. I will write the description as if parents were reading it in the waiting room of a doctors office. Because parents are busy and may be unaccustomed to reading long documents, I will use questions for each subheading. Hurried or bored readers can then skip over sections more easily. The target audience has a variety of education levels, so I will limit the use of technical terms and define those that are necessary. Misinformation about vaccines is common, but this description hopes to provide a comprehensive explanation of the biological process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 2

1.

Inactivated bacteria and viruses are injected into the body. a. b. How are bacteria and viruses in vaccines inactivated? How is the vaccine injected?

2.

The immune system recognizes the vaccine. c. d. What are antigens? How does the body recognize antigens?

3.

Immune cells become activated and respond. e. f. Once the immune system detects the vaccine, how does it respond? What are antibodies and how do they combat invaders?

4.

The body gains immunity. g. h. How does the immune system retain information about a specific attacker? How do memory cells give you immunity?

Conclusion References and Image Sources

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INTRODUCTION

The purpose of a vaccine is to grant a person immunity from a specific illness, preventing the person from getting sick from that disease. Vaccination is a type of immunization based on well-researched biological principles and follows a step by step process. Heres a brief overview: 1. 2. 3. 4. Vaccine enters the body. The bodys defenses identify the vaccine. The defenses are activated and react. The person becomes immune.

We know visiting the pediatrician can be a stressful experience for parents as well as their children. We hope that this description will answer some of your questions about vaccines and give you a general understanding of the process. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the doctor!

SECTION 1: INACTIVATED PATHOGENS ARE INJECTED INTO THE BODY

Parents get concerned when health professionals talk of inactivated pathogens being injected into their childs body. Just what are pathogens? Well, a pathogen is a foreign organism capable of causing disease. The most common kinds of pathogens are viruses and bacteria. For example, the influenza virus, which causes the flu, and Clostridium tetani, a bacteria which causes tetanus, are both pathogens.

HOW ARE PATHOGENS IN VACCINES INACTIVATED?

Sometimes, parents worry the vaccine their child is receiving could cause the disease itself. However, vaccine manufacturers have ensured against this by inactivating the pathogens within their vaccines. A patient could experience some minor symptoms because of a vaccine, but will almost never contract the full illness. So, just how are these pathogens inactivated? Here are five ways. 1. 2. 3. 4. Weakened form of a live pathogen. The pathogen is alive, but cannot survive in the body. Deactivated or killed pathogen. The pathogen is killed with high heat or formaldehyde. Fractionated pathogen. The pathogen is broken up into small, harmless pieces. Deactivated toxins. Many illnesses are actually caused by toxins rather than pathogens themselves. Altered toxins in vaccines do not have negative effects. 5. Mimicked pathogen. Proteins and cells are synthesized to appear as invaders, but are actually harmless.

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HOW IS THE VACCINE INJECTED?

There are many techniques for bypassing the bodys physical defenses and presen ting the vaccine to the immune system. Novel vaccine delivery systems include oral, nasal, and needleless injections. However, your doctor will most likely use a standard needle injection. The two injection techniques most commonly used for vaccinations are subcutaneous and intramuscular. SUBCUTANEOUS INTRAMUSCULAR

As you can see in the diagrams, the outermost layers of the human body include the dermis (skin), fat, and muscle. After the vaccine enters the fatty or muscle tissue, forces from the heart propel it until it comes into contact with a cell from the immune system.

SECTION 1: IMPORTANT IDEAS

Vaccine: An immunization that exposes the immune system to inactivated pathogens Pathogen: An organism capable of causing disease, usually a bacteria or virus Inactivation: A process in which pathogens in vaccines are made unable to cause disease

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SECTION 2: THE IMMUNE SYSTEM RECOGNIZES THE VACCINE

Cells of the immune system constantly patrol the body, identifying and eliminating foreign substances and organisms. Once the vaccine enters the fatty or muscle layers under the skin, the immune system can target it for isolation and destruction.

WHAT ARE ANTIGENS?

In order to destroy a pathogen, the immune system must first determine whether or not the object is foreign. This judgment is based on antigens. Antigens are small structures on the surface of all substances that are unique to each substance. The immune system uses antigens to identify pathogens in the same way we use facial features to recognize our friends. Specific cells of the immune system are designed to detect the small differences in structure that differentiate antigens.

HOW DOES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM RECOGNIZE ANTIGENS?

The specific cells that recognize antigens are called B lymphocytes, or more simply B cells. B cells are covered in B Cell Receptors which attach to antigens. The human body makes millions of different B cells each day, and each of these can bind to a different antigen. Thus, when the vaccine enters the body, it will eventually bind to a B cell which has a receptor specific to its antigen.

B cells have receptors specific to the structure of the antigen they are designed to bind to. For this question, Clone 1 has correctly shaped receptors to be activated by the antigen.

SECTION 2: IMPORTANT IDEAS

Immune system: A bodily system that protects against foreign substances and pathogens by identifying and eliminating them Antigen: A structure on the surface of a pathogen that the immune system uses to identify the pathogen B cell: An immune system cell that identifies foreign antigens and binds to them

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SECTION 3: IMMUNE CELLS BECOME ACTIVATED AND RESPOND

Weve come a long way. The vaccine entered the bodys tissues, and a B cell has identified it as a potential pathogen and is holding it in custody. So, what happens now? How does the immune system deal with this threat?

ONCE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM DETECTS THE A VACCINE, HOW DOES IT RESPOND?
The immune system responds to the vaccine the same way it would a real pathogen. The activated B cell divides into plasma cells and memory cells. Well talk about memory cells in Section 4. The plasma cell (also called an effector cell, because it effects the bodys defense) is basically an antibody factory. It produces thousands of antibodies every second! So, how do these antibodies help with foreign invaders?

WHAT ARE ANTIBODIES AND HOW DO THEY COMBAT INVADERS?

Antibodies are proteins that bind to the antigens of pathogens and mark them for attack by the rest of the immune system. They are like the out-of-order sign that signals to the rest of the body, Hey! This isnt supposed to be here. Fix it! Antibodies have 4 main functions. 1. Coat antigens to facilitate phagocytosis (cell eating). Antibodies cause antigens to bunch up, making it easier for large cells called phagocytes to consume and digest them. Inactivate toxins. Antibodies surround toxins and neutralize them. Enhance inflammation. The process of inflammation is like a call-to-arms for the immune system. It increases blood flow to the region of infection, allowing more immune cells to join the fight against the pathogens. a. Inflammation also sets in motion the complement. Complement is a group of proteins that forms holes in cell membranes, causing surrounding fluid to rush in and destroy the cell, like a needle popping a balloon. Inflammation is the result of the body treating the vaccine as a real threat. This is part of the reason people may feel sick after receiving a vaccine. Luckily, the immune system can easily clean up the harmless vaccine, so these symptoms pass quickly.

2.

3.

4.

Mark cells for cytotoxic attack. Cytotoxic attack involves cells that use toxic chemicals to attack pathogens.

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The Various Functions of Antibodies

SECTION 3: IMPORTANT IDEAS

Plasma cell: An activated B cell that produces antibodies

Antibody: A protein that binds to pathogens and allows the rest of the immune system to attack it We dont need to remember all the different ways the immune system fights off pathogens in order to understand how immunization works. However, we do need to know that antibodies are essential.

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SECTION 4: THE BODY GAINS IMMUNITY

The battle is won. The body has successfully degraded all of the vaccine particles it thought were threatening the body. However, this exercise has been merely a trial run to practice for the real enemy. The knowledge the immune system gained will give it an overwhelming advantage if it does come into contact with the dangerous pathogen. Lets look into how the body has gained immunity.

HOW DOES THE BODY RETAIN INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC ATTACKER?

Remember when the activated B cell first divided? Some of its daughter cells became short-lived plasma cells, while others became long-lived memory cells. Memory cells can potentially divide and survive for a persons entire life.

HOW DO MEMORY CELLS GIVE YOU IMMUNITY?

Memory cells are like supercharged B cells. As soon as the memory cell is exposed to its corresponding antigen it divides quickly, and produces an army of plasma cells which produce the immune response. Also, some memory cells are saved for later attacks.

As you can see in the second image, the sheer number of antibodies allows the immune system to successfully eradicate the pathogens before they can cause illness.

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CONCLUSION
The process of vaccination demonstrates an interplay between medicine and the bodys natural defenses that is truly beautiful. Even more satisfying is that vaccines have eradicated a variety of crippling diseases that were once common. We will never again have to see our children suffer from diseases such as measles, polio, and smallpox. That is why the medical community shudders when misinformed parents deny vaccinations in an attempt to protect their children. We hope that your new understanding of vaccines grants you immunity from such fallacious arguments and we thank you for supporting the future health of your child and our community through vaccination.

REFERENCES AND IMAGE SOURCES

Content: Silverthorn, Dee Unglaub. "The Immune System." Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach . San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2004. 782-812. Print.

Images: Overview of Vaccination. Digital image. CDC.gov. Center for Disease Control, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-en/downloads/pg_how_vacc_work.pdf>. Larson, Lynne. Injection Techniques. Digital image. CDC.gov. Center for Disease Control, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/d/vacc_admin.pdf>.

Images Antigen Question, Primary Immune Response, Antibody Function, Secondary Immune Response, and Antibody Concentration were copied from the chapter The Immune System from Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach, as cited above.

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