Passive immunity

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Passive immunity

Passive immunity is the transfer of active humoral immunity

Humoral immunity

The Humoral Immune Response is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by secreted antibodies produced in the cells of the B lymphocyte lineage ....
in the form of readymade antibodies, from one individual to another. Passive immunity

Immunity (medical)

Immunity is a medical term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion....
can occur naturally, when maternal antibodies are transferred to the fetus through the placenta, and can also be induced artificially, when high levels of human

Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
(or horse

Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
) antibodies specific for a pathogen

Pathogen

A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
or toxin

Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
are transferred to non-immune

Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
individuals. Passive immunization is used when there is a high risk of infection and insufficient time for the body to develop its own immune response, or to reduce the symptoms of ongoing or immunosuppressive

Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions....
diseases.

rnal passive immunity is a type of naturally acquired passive immunity, and refers to antibody

Antibody

Antibodies are gamma globulin proteins that are found in blood or other bodily fluids of vertebrates, and are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacterium and viruses....
-mediated immunity conveyed to a fetus

Fetus

A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate, after the embryonic stage and before childbirth. The plural is fetuses, or sometimes feti....
by its mother during pregnancy.

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Encyclopedia

Passive immunity is the transfer of active humoral immunity

Humoral immunity

Immunity (medical)

Human

Horse

Pathogen

Toxin

Immune system

Immunosuppression

Naturally acquired passive immunity

Maternal passive immunity is a type of naturally acquired passive immunity, and refers to antibody

Antibody

Fetus

A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate, after the embryonic stage and before childbirth. The plural is fetuses, or sometimes feti....
by its mother during pregnancy. Maternal antibodies (MatAb) are passed through the placenta

Placenta

The placenta or afterbirth is a highly vascularized ephemeral organ present in Placentalia vertebrates that connects the developing fetal tissues to the uterine wall....
to the fetus by an FcRn receptor on placental cells. This occurs around the third month of gestation

Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during mammalian pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
. Immunoglobulin G is the only antibody isotype

Isotype

Isotype can refer to:* In crystallography, an "Isotype" is a synonym for isomorph* In biology, per the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the "Isotype" is a duplicate of the holotype....
that can pass through the placenta. Immunization is often required shortly following birth to prevent diseases such as tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacterium, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, bones, joints, and even the...
, hepatitis B, polio, and pertussis

Pertussis

Pertussis, also known as the whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis; it derived its name from the"whooping" sound made from the exhalation of air during a cough.; a similar, milder disease is caused by Bordetella parapertussis....
, however, MatAb can inhibit the induction of protective vaccine responses throughout the first year of life. This effect is usually overcome by secondary responses to booster immunization.

Passive immunity is also provided through the transfer of IgA

IGA

IGA may stand for:Acronyms* Islamic Golden Age, also known as the Islamic Renaissance* Irish Games Association* International Gamers Award...
antibodies found in breast milk

Breast milk

Breast milk refers to the milk produced by a mother to feed her baby. It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborns before they are able to eat and digest other foods; older infants and toddlers may continue to be breastfeeding....
that are transferred to the gut of the infant, protecting against bacterial infections, until the newborn can synthesize its own antibodies.

The MatAbs transferred have a half-life of approximately 14 days, and thus only have an effect the first months.

Artificially acquired passive immunity

see also: Temporarily-induced immunity
Artificial induction of immunity

Immunity against infections that can cause serious illness is generally beneficial. Since Pasteur provided support for a germ theory of infectious disease, we have increasingly induced immunity against a widening range of diseases to prevent the associated risks from the wild infections....

Artificially acquired passive immunity is a short-term immunization achieved by the transfer of antibodies, which can be administered in several forms; as human or animal blood plasma

Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water , and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, Hormone and carbon dioxide ....
or serum

Serum

Serum may refer to:*Blood plasma, with clotting factors removed*Antiserum, for transfer of passive immunity*Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid...
, as pooled human immunoglobulin for intravenous (IVIG) or intramuscular (IG) use, as high-titer human IVIG or IG from immunized or from donors recovering from the disease, and as monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are monospecific antibody that are identical because they are produced by one type of white blood cell that are all cloning of a single parent cell....
(MAb). Passive transfer is used prophylactically in the case of immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in the immune system, or primary immunodeficiency....
diseases, such as hypogammaglobulinemia

Hypogammaglobulinemia

Hypogammaglobulinemia is a type of immune disorder characterized by a reduction in all types of gamma globulins.It is distinguished from dysgammaglobulinemia, which is a reduction in some types of gamma globulins, but not others....
. It is also used in the treatment of several types of acute infection, and to treat poisoning

Poisoning

Poisoning may mean:*For biology toxicity, see toxin and poison* Catalyst poisoning* Nuclear poison* Chinese_food_therapy#Cantonese_classification_of_food, a classification in Cantonese food...
Immunity derived from passive immunization lasts for only a short period of time, and there is also a potential risk for hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system. Hypersensitivity reactions require a pre-sensitized state of the host....
reactions, and serum sickness

Serum sickness

Serum sickness is a reaction to proteins in antiserum derived from an animal source. It is a type of hypersensitivity, specifically immune complex hypersensitivity ....
, especially from gamma globulin

Gamma globulin

Gamma globulins, or Ig's, are a class of proteins in the blood, identified by their position after serum protein electrophoresis. The most significant gamma globulins are antibody....
of non-human origin. Passive immunity provides immediate protection, but the body does not develop memory, therefore the patient is at risk of being infected by the same pathogen later.

History and applications of artificial passive immunity

The birth of passive immunotherapy may have begun with Mithridates VI of Pontus

Mithridates VI of Pontus

Mithradates VI , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; b. 134, d. 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus in northern Anatolia from about 119 to 63 BC....
, who sought to harden himself against poison, and took daily sub-lethal doses of poison to build tolerance. Mithridates is also said to have fashioned a 'universal antidote' to protect him from all earthly poisons. For nearly 2000 years, poisons were thought to be the proximal cause of disease, and a complicated mixture of ingredients, called Mithridate

Mithridate

Mithridatium, also known as as mithridate," "mithridatum, mithridatium or mithridaticum, is a semi-mythical remedy with as many as 65 ingredients, used as an antidote for poisoning, and said to be created by Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus....
, was used to cure poisoning during the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
. An updated version, Theriacum Andromachi, was used well into the 19th century. In 1888 Emile Roux and Alexandre Yersin

Alexandre Yersin

Alexandre Emile Jean Yersin was a France physician and bacteriology. Along with Shibasaburo Kitasato he is remembered as the co-discoverer of the bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague or pest, which was re-named in his honour ....
isolated diphtheria toxin

Diphtheria toxin

Diphtheria toxin is an exotoxin secreted by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the pathogen bacteria that causes diphtheria....
, and following the 1890 discovery of an antitoxin

Antitoxin

An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin. Antitoxins are produced by certain animals, plants, and bacterium. Although they are most effective in neutralizing toxins, they can kill bacteria and other microorganisms....
based immunity to diphtheria

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an upper Respiration tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity....
and tetanus

Tetanus

Emil Adolf von Behring

Emil Adolf von Behring was a Germany physiologist who received the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine....
and Shibasaburo Kitasato, and antitoxin became the first major success of modern therapeutic Immunology.

The artificial induction of passive immunity has been used for over a century to treat infectious disease, and prior to the advent of antibiotics, was often the only specific agents available to treat certain infections. Immunoglobulin therapy was continued to be a first line therapy in the treatment of severe respiratory disease

Respiratory disease

Respiratory Disease is the term for diseases of the respiratory system. These include diseases of the lung, pleural cavity, bronchial tubes, trachea, upper respiratory tract and of the nerves and muscles of breathing....
s until the 1930’s, even after sulfonamides were introduced.

In 1890 antibody therapy was used to treat tetanus

Tetanus

Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, Anaerobic organism Clostridium tetani....
, when serum from immunized horses was injected into patients with severe tetanus in an attempt to neutralize the tetanus toxin, and prevent the dissemination of the disease. Since the 1960’s, human tetanus immune globulin (TIG) has been used in the United States in un-immunized or incompletely immunized patients who have sustained wounds consistent with the development of tetanus. The administration of horse antitoxin

Antitoxin

Botulism

Botulism also known as "Botulinus Intoxication," is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulin toxin. The toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum....
. Antitoxin is often also given prophylactically to individuals known to have ingested contaminated food. IVIG treatment was also used successfully to treat several victims of toxic shock syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome is a very rare but potentially fatal illness caused by a Exotoxin. Different bacteriuml toxins may cause toxic shock syndrome, depending on the situation....
, during the 1970’s tampon

Tampon

A tampon is a mass of cotton or rayon; or a mixture of the two inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb bodilyfluid. The most common type in daily use is disposable and designed to be inserted into the vagina during menstruation to absorb the flow of blood....
scare.

Antibody therapy is also used to treat viral infections. In 1945, hepatitis A

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A, , is an Acute infectious disease of the liver caused by Hepatitis A virus, which is most commonly transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated food or drinking water....
infections, epidemic in summer camps, were successfully prevented by immunoglobulin treatment. Similarly, hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) effectively prevents Hepatitis B infection. Antibody prophylaxis of both Hepatitis A and B has largely been supplanted by the introduction of vaccines however it is still indicated following exposure and prior to travel areas of endemic infection.

In 1953, human vaccinia

Vaccinia

Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, Viral envelope virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 base pair in length, and which encodes for approximately 250 genes....
immunoglobulin (VIG) was used to prevent the spread of smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"....
during an outbreak in Madras, India, and continues to be used to treat complications arising from smallpox vaccination. Although the prevention of measles

Measles

Measles is a infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses....
is typically induced through vaccination, it is often treated immuno-prophylactically upon exposure. Prevention of rabies

Rabies

Rabies is a virus zoonotic neurotropic virus disease that causes acute encephalitis in mammals. It is most commonly caused by a bite from an infected animal, but occasionally by other forms of contact....
infection still requires the use of both vaccine and immunoglobulin treatments.

During a 1995 Ebola

Ebola

Ebola is the common term for a group of viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus , family Filoviridae, and for the disease that they cause, Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever....
virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whole blood from recovering patients, and containing anti-Ebola antibodies, was used to treat eight patients, as no effective means of prevention or treatment currently exists. Only one of the eight infected patients died, compared to a typical 80% Ebola mortality, which suggested that antibody treatment may contribute to survival. Immunoglobulin has been used to both prevent and treat reactivation of the herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 are two species of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, which cause infections in humans. Eight members of herpes virus infect humans to cause a variety of illnesses including cold sores, chickenpox or varicella, shingles or herpes zoster , cytomegalovirus , and various cancers, and can cause brain...
(HSV), varicella zoster virus

Varicella zoster virus

Varicella zoster virus is one of eight Herpesviridae known to infect humans . It commonly causes chicken-pox in children and both shingles and postherpetic neuralgia in adults....
,Epstein-Barr virus

Epstein-Barr virus

The Epstein-Barr Virus , also called Human herpesvirus 4 , is a virus of the herpesviridae , and is one of the most common viruses in humans....
(EBV), and cytomegalovirus

Cytomegalovirus

Cytomegalovirus is a Virus genus of the Herpesviridae group: in humans it is commonly known as HCMV or Human Herpesvirus 5 . CMV belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae, which also includes Roseolovirus....
(CMV).

FDA licensed immunoglobulins

The following immunoglobulins are some of the immunoglubulins currently used for infectious disease

Infectious disease

An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, Mycosis, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions....
prophylaxis

Prophylaxis

Prophylaxis is any medical or public health procedure whose purpose is to prevent, rather than treat or cure a disease. Roughly, prophylactic measures are divided between primary prophylaxis and secondary prophylaxis ....
and immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy, in medicine, refers to an array of treatment strategies based upon the concept of modulating the immune system to achieve a Prophylaxis and/or Immunosuppressive therapy goal....
, in the United States.

**FDA approved products for passive immunization and immunotherapy**
Disease	Product	Source	Use
Botulism Botulism Botulism also known as "Botulinus Intoxication," is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulin toxin. The toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum....	Specific equine IgG	horse Horse The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....	Treatment of wound and food borne forms of botulism, infant botulism is treated with human botulism immune globulin (BabyBIG).
Cytomegalovirus Cytomegalovirus *Cytomegalovirus* is a Virus genus of the Herpesviridae group: in humans it is commonly known as HCMV or Human Herpesvirus 5 . CMV belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae, which also includes Roseolovirus.... (CMV)	hyper-immune IVIG	human	Prophylaxis, used most often in kidney Kidney The kidneys are Organ that have numerous biological roles. Their primary role is to maintain the homeostasis balance of bodily fluids by filtering and secreting Metabolomics#Metabolitess and minerals from the blood and excreting them, along with water , as urine.... transplant Organ transplant Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site.... patients.
Diphtheria Diphtheria Diphtheria is an upper Respiration tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity....	Specific equine IgG	horse	Treatment of diphtheria infection.
Hepatitis A Hepatitis A Hepatitis A, , is an Acute infectious disease of the liver caused by Hepatitis A virus, which is most commonly transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated food or drinking water.... , measles Measles Measles is a infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses....	Pooled human Ig	human serum	Prevention of Hepatitis A and measles infection, treatment of congenital or acquired immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in the immune system, or primary immunodeficiency.... .
Hepatitis B	Hepatitis B Ig	human	Post-exposure prophylaxis, prevention in high-risk infants (administered with Hepatitis B vaccine Vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that establishes or improves immunity to a particular disease.Vaccines can be prophylaxis , or Medication .... ).
ITP Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is the condition of having a low platelet platelet count of no known cause . As most causes appear to be related to antibody against platelets, it is also known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura or immune-mediated thrombocytopenic purpura.... , Kawasaki disease Kawasaki disease Kawasaki disease is an inflammation of the middle-sized arteries. It affects many organs, including the skin, mucous membranes, lymph nodes, and blood vessel walls, but the most serious effect is on the heart.... , IgG deficiency X-linked agammaglobulinemia X-linked agammaglobulinemia is a rare X-linked genetic disorder that affects the body's ability to fight infection . XLA patients do not generate mature B cells....	Pooled human IgG	human serum	Treatment of ITP and Kawasaki disease, prevention/treatment of opportunistic infection with IgG deficiency.
Rabies Rabies Rabies is a virus zoonotic neurotropic virus disease that causes acute encephalitis in mammals. It is most commonly caused by a bite from an infected animal, but occasionally by other forms of contact....	Rabies Ig	human	Post-exposure prophylaxis (administered with rabies vaccine).
Tetanus Tetanus Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, Anaerobic organism Clostridium tetani....	Tetanus Ig	human	Treatment of tetanus infection.
Vaccinia Vaccinia Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, Viral envelope virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 base pair in length, and which encodes for approximately 250 genes....	Vaccinia Ig	human	Treatment of progressive vaccinia infection including eczema and occular forms (usually resulting from smallpox Smallpox Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple".... vaccination Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by a pathogen.... in immunocompromised individuals).
Varicella (chicken-pox)	Varicella-zoster Ig	human	Post-exposure prophylaxis in high risk individuals.

Passive transfer of cell-mediated immunity

The one exception to passive-humoral immunity is the passive transfer of cell mediated immunity, also called adoptive immunization which involves the transfer of mature circulating lymphocytes. It is rarely used in humans, and requires histocompatible

Histocompatibility

Histocompatibility is the property of having the same, or mostly the same, alleles of a set of genes called the major histocompatibility complex....
(matched) donors, which are often difficult to find, and carries severe risks of graft versus host disease. This technique has been used in humans to treat certain diseases including some types of cancer

Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
and immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency

Immunology

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with, among other things, the physiology functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the physical, chemical an...
, to transfer immunity between "congenic

Congenic

In genetics, two organisms that differ in one Locus are defined as congenic or coisogenic....
", or deliberately inbred

Animal model

An animal model is a non-human animal that has a disease or injury that is similar to a human condition. These test conditions are often termed as animal models of disease....
mouse strains which are histocompatible.

Passive immunity

Naturally acquired passive immunity

Artificially acquired passive immunity

History and applications of artificial passive immunity

FDA licensed immunoglobulins

Passive transfer of cell-mediated immunity

See also