Immunodiagnostic Questions Flashcards
What 4 substances are considered anti-coagulants?
- Citrate
- Oxalate
- EDTA
- Heparin
what is the role of an anti-coagulant that has been added to a tube of blood?
They all bind calcium
what anti coagulant does not bind calcium?
Heparin
why does heparin not bind calcium?
Instead it increases the activity of antithrombin
What is plasma in a blood sample?
fluid component of uncoagulated blood
what is serum in a blood sample?
fluid component of coagulated blood (aka contains clotting factors)
So why is fibrinogen present in plasma and not serum?
because proteins that are part of the coagulation system are still present in plasma (aka fibrinogen) and in serum these proteins have been consumed by the formation of the clot .
Simple pneumonic for remembering serum and plasma
Serum has less letters than plasma so it has less stuff.
what is the purpose of an indirect immunofluorescence test?
detect the presence of a soluble autoantibody
In an indirect immunofluorescence test a small slide contains small slice of frozen tissue of which tissues?
- Human Thyroid tissue
- Murine Kidney
- Stomach
- Liver
what are you trying to determine with the indirect test and these associated tissues?
with patients diluted serum added to the slide the serum will contain autoantibodies if that patient has an autoimmune disorder
If a patient does have autoantibodies reactive with one of the tissues the antigen will bind. However, the autoantibodies can not be visualized. So how do you visualize these auto antibodies?
via a tagged fluorescent antibody, anti-human IgG is added (considered a secondary antibody)
what are the 5 disorders for which anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) may be detected?
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Juvenile Chronic Arthritis
- Drug Induced lupus ( Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
- Graves Disease
GRADS
ANA antibodies is a screen test not a confirmatory test, why?
screens for a number of disorders
what is a direct fluorescence test?
adding fluorescent antibodies that will bind to autoimmune antibodies or immune complexes that are already bound to tissue.
why do a direct over an indirect fluorescence test?
testing for one specific disorder via a specific antibody
what is the pattern on a renal biopsy for Goodpasture Syndrome?
Linear! due to binding to anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies
what is the pattern on a renal biopsy for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus?
Irregular or LUMPY BUMPY (buzz word)
What is an ELISA test used for?
to detect antigens or antibodies present in a patients serum.
which ELISA test us used to detect antibody in a patients serum?
Indirect ELISA
what is the basic schematic for an indirect ELISA test?
Antigen –> Primary antibody —> Secondary Antibody –> Enzyme
Which ELISA test is used for detecting antigen in a patients serum?
Sandwich ELISA
what is the basic schematic for a sandwich ELISA?
Antibody —> antigen —> antibody —> enzyme
what is the tagged antibody for ELISA test?
anti-Ig antibody
what is the underlying principle of electrophoresis?
migration of molecules under the influence of an electric field
do molecules migrate in the direct of the electrode bearing the same or opposite charge?
opposite
Which molecules migrate faster on an electrophoresis gel?
smaller particles
Name the order of migration in terms of fastest to slowest of IgA, IgG, and IgM
IgG, IgM, IgA
Go Move (your) Ass