Sex, Drugs and

the Immune
System
Arjun Luthra
Mentor: Dr. Sanjiv Sur and Dr. Tanvi Patel
Department of Immunology and Allergy
UTMB Multispecialty Care Center
Teacher: Mrs. Kristi Click

Disclaimer: Some information from this presentation comes from outside sources.

Introduction
ISM Semester 2016
Mentor: Dr. Sanjiv Sur and Dr.
Tanvi Patel
Dr. Patel is completing her first
year of fellowship in the
department of allergy and
immunology. Dr. Sur received
his M.D. degree in Kanpur,
India. He completed his
residency at University of
Maryland.

What is Independent Study

Mentorship
ISM is an advanced academic course that allows students to

observe and follow a mentor, an adult professional within their field

of interest
Students are expected to research and develop a presentation on a
specific topic within their chosen field of study
Students are required to dedicate two hours of mentorship work
and three hours of ISM-related activities per week.
Students are required to report their findings in a weekly activity
log and journal entry
Students are also required to develop a collegiate-level tangible
final product to supplement their final presentation

Sex, Drugs and the Immune

System
This topic is pertinent and relevant to
individuals of my specific age group. When
enrolling to college, students are strongly
recommended to get a vaccination for
meningococcal disease.

Key Points of Presentation

Overview of Human Immunity: Adaptive and
Innate Immunity
Discussion of Humoral vs Cell-Mediated Immune
Response
Causes and Symptoms of Human Papillomavirus
and Meningococcal disease
Diagnosis, Treatment and Prognosis of These
Diseases

Purpose of the Immune

System
Protect host from
pathogens
Help host eliminate
toxic and allergenic
substances that enter
through mucosal
surfaces
How does the immune
system differentiate
between beneficial and

Adaptive vs Innate Immunity

Innate: Consist of biochemical defense
mechanisms that provide hard-wired
response to infection and are usually
specific to broad groups of microbes
Phagocytic cells(macrophages), NK cells
Adaptive Immunity: Recognizes new
foreign substances, develop specific
immune responses that reacts to specific
antigens
Lymphocytes
Abbas, Abul K., Andrew H. Lichtman, and Shiv Pillai. Cellular and
Molecular Immunology. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2012. Print.

Humoral Immunity and CellMediated Response

Humoral Immune Response
consists of lymphocytes secreting
antibodies that prevent infections
by eliminating extracellular
microbes
Cell-Mediated: T lymphocytes
activate macrophages to kill
microbes
or and
Abbas,phagocytosed
Abul K., Andrew H. Lichtman,
and Shiv Pillai. Cellular
Molecular Immunology. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2012. Print.
eliminate cell reservoirs of infection
https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/01-elements-of-the-immunesystem/deck/13502341

Human Papillomavirus
Considered to be a sexually transmitted
disease(passed through oral sex and intercourse)
Genital warts are strong indicator of infection of
the virus
Lives on the bodys epithelial cells(surface of skin)
The viral types 16 and 18 are the most common
types in invasive cervical cancer, accounting for
about 70% of all cervical cancers
http://diseasespictures.com/hpv-warts/
http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm
There are about 100 types
Common among adolescents and young adults

Statistics for HPV

Persistent infection by oncogenic HPV types is a
prerequisite for the development of cervical cancer,
which each year hits about 528000 women and causes
266000 deaths worldwide(World Health Organization)
About 79 million Americans are currently infected with
HPV. About 14 million people become newly infected
each year. (Center of Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.who.int/immunization/position_papers/pp_hpv_oct2014_summa
ry.pdf?ua=1
http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/default.htm

Meningococcal Disease
Refers to infection caused by the

bacterium Neisseria meningitidis

Spread through the exchange of
respiratory and throat secretions
Causes meningitis(inflammation of the
membranes of the brain), pneumonia ,
septicaemia (blood infection)
Long complications such as skin scarring
Immune Response: Activation of cytokines
leads to a proinflammatory response

http://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/about/riskmedical.html

Final Product
Purpose: to educate people about the field of allergy and
immunology
Hypothetical case studies which will discuss the diagnosis
and treatment of diseases related to immune system
(specifically HPV and meningococcal disease)

Conclusion
Questions?
I liked this experience a lot because I got to
understand not just about how our immune
system works. It was interesting to learn about
the immune responses related to HPV and
Meningococcal disease. In my observation and
conference hours, I got to learn about allergies
and different immunological syndromes.

Thank you
I would like to thank my mentors, Dr. Sur and Dr.
Patel. I would also like to thank my parents and
my teacher Mrs. Kristi Click for giving me this
opportunity. I also appreciate all the evaluators
and audience members today for taking time to
view my presentation.

Works Cited
Abbas, Abul K., Andrew H. Lichtman, and Shiv Pillai.Cellular and Molecular Immunology. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier, 2012. Print.
"Genital HPV Infection - Fact Sheet."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Feb.
2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm>.
"HPV Warts." Diseases Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://diseasespictures.com/hpv-warts/>.
Mariani, Luciano, and Aldo Venuti. "HPV Vaccine: An Overview of Immune Response, Clinical Protection, and New Approaches for the
Future."Journal of Translational Medicine(2010): n. pag.National Center for Biotechnology Information. BioMed Central, 27 Oct.
2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2988719/>.
"01 Elements of the Immune System - Biology 1bg313 with Sandra Kleinau at Uppsala Universitet - StudyBlue."StudyBlue. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/01-elements-of-the-immune-system/deck/13502341>.
"Prevention and Control of Meningococcal Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP)."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6202a1.htm>.
"Summary of the WHO Position Paper on Vaccines against Human Papillomavirus (HPV)."World Health Organization. World Health
Organization, 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.