The research proposal was a group assignment in which my group members and I choose to write about the Immune Systems memory. In order to conduct an experiment, money is a necessity. The purpose of the proposal is to convince the audience that our work is important in order get funded.
Fighting the Flu: How Your Immune System Uses Its Memory
Future Docs
The City College of New York
3/19/19 – 4/11/19
Funding : $ 200
B.R., F.S., J.M.
Abstract
This research focuses on the process of the immune system’s memory when the body encounters viral infections and other illnesses. The immune system releases an immune response carried out by white blood cells to protect the body from a particular invader. Once the white blood cells have conquered the pathogens, they generate memory cells. These memory cells become accustomed to the pathogens and will be able to conquer them at a much faster rate. By studying the immune system’s memory cells, deeper knowledge can be gained towards the process on how the immune system is able to recall and fight these pathogens with multiple antibodies. To investigate this, we will create an immune system model, where magnets will represent the antibodies, iron filings will represent pathogens, and salt will represent the cells. A data table will be included as we test the model, and this will record the amount of weight in grams the antibodies can eliminate, individually and as a group. The expected outcome is that the magnets will ultimately bind to the iron filling. The obtained results were that as the amount of magnets increased in the jar, more iron filings were able to be removed. This will demonstrate that if multiple antibodies are more effective than just one individually, then additional pathogens would be defeated. This integrates with the overall process of the immune system’s memory cells.
Introduction
Humans are constantly exposed to pathogens such as harmful bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Many people are not aware when they have been exposed until symptoms are present which allows the pathogen to travel to its’ target site, replicate itself, and attack the specific organ. Pathogens are the cause of illnesses, diseases and infections. Whenever the body is intruded by a pathogen, the immune system steps in to fight off the pathogens. In order to fight off the pathogens, the immune system must first recognize the pathogen, also known as self/ non-self recognition. This allows the immune systems know what belongs and what doesn’t belong, so it can attack the invade instead of the body. Then it proceeds to attack by releasing B cells , which results in the destruction of the pathogens.
The B cells, which is a type of white blood cell, creates proteins called antibodies. Antibodies produced by the B cells, bind to the antigens of the pathogen. This cause the pathogen an inability to enter cells and destroys it. Once the pathogen has been destroyed, the white blood cells leave behind memory T cells .Memory T cell responses to these viruses are generated as a result of a productive immune response that effectively controls the virus ( Farber 2013). The memory T cells intakes an antigen from the pathogen and remembers the structure of the pathogen antibodies, therefore if the body is invaded by the same pathogen again, it will reproduce antibodies and attack the pathogens at a more faster and strong rate than the first encounter.
Studies of mouse models have shown the robust generation of memory T cells that occurs in response to diverse pathogens, and the efficacious protective responses of these cells following reinfection; however, the role of memory T cells in protecting and maintaining long-term health in humans is less clear ( Farber 2013). The purpose of this research is to investigate how memory T cells help fight off pathogens in the human body. The goal of this is to obtain more information on how having more antibodies further benefits the immune system in the destruction of pathogens. This knowledge can help result in the discovery of other methods to helping the body develop t cells and antibodies. It also helps better understand how the immune system respond to pathogens invading the body.
Annotated Bibliography
Dunn, Jennifer, et al. “Multi-Layered Epigenetic Mechanisms Contribute to Transcriptional
Memory in T Lymphocytes.” BMC Immunology, vol. 16, no. 1, May 2015, pp. 1–11.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12865-015-0089-9.
The author discusses immunological memory and its’ responsiveness when encountering
previous pathogens. Also, the author focuses on T-cells and how their capacity to remember certain pathogens resides in their unique pattern of gene expressions.
Weng, Nan-ping, et al. “The Molecular Basis of the Memory T Cell Response: Differential Gene
Expression and Its Epigenetic Regulation.” Nature Reviews Immunology, vol. 12, no. 4, Apr. 2012, pp. 306–315. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/nri3173.
The author discusses identifying pathogen-specific memory that arise after infection. This identification provides a cellular basis for immunological memory. Though the immune system is partially understood, evidence suggest that epigenetic changes are the key in controlling memory cells. The author presents a current understanding of the molecular basis of memory cells.
Project Narrative (Methods)
This experiment will begin by filling and mixing a cup of salt and one tablespoon of iron filings into a jar. This will represent the human body cells and pathogens to portray that the body has a viral infection. After this, we will add one magnet each piece representing one antibody and then increase the amount of magnet pieces put into the jar. The results will be recorded on a data table with each row representing the number of antibodies put into the jar in increasing order, and the average of the weight in grams that it was able to pick up. The data will be assessed by comparing the amount of iron filings in grams that one magnet and multiple magnets were able to extract from the jar. This will evaluate the effectiveness of multiple antibodies fighting a pathogen, and it will analyze the significance of the immune systems production of memory cells.
Personnel
All group members attend the City College of New York. Jeremy is responsible for gathering the materials necessary to conduct the experience, as well as writing the annotated bibliographies and budget. Britney is in charge of setting up the experiment, writing the abstract and project narrative. Fatoumata is responsible for collecting data, writing the introduction and personnel.
Material & Budget
| Item | Quantity | Cost |
| Salt | 1 Cup | $2 |
| Measuring Cup | 1 | $3 |
| Iron Filing | 1 | $6 |
| Magnetic Tape | 1 | $4 |
| Ruler | 1 | $2 |
| Scissors | 1 | $2 |
| Plastic Wrap | 1 | $3 |
| Twist Ties | 3 | $2 |
| Paper | 1 | $1 |
| Digital Scale | 1 | $30 |
| Jar | 1 | $2 |
| Total | $58 |
The materials include: one cup of salt, a measuring cup, one tablespoon of iron filings, magnetic
tape, a ruler, scissors, plastic wrap, twist ties, paper, digital scale, and a jar. The salt will
represent human cells while the iron filings will represent pathogens. When the salt and iron
filings are mixed together in the jar, it will model an infectious human body. The magnetic
pieces represent the human antibodies present in the body. The rest of the materials will serve as
measurement tools to precisely conduct the experiment.
Timeframe
3/19/2019: Group Roles Assigned
3/21/19: Acquired all materials
3/22/19: Research
3/24/19: Conduct Experiment
3/25/19: Analyze data & conclude
3/28/19: Start the report
3/28/19: Review report
4/2/19: Complete and publish report
