Immunology 10 (Kyle ... WTF how many more are there)

Question 1

Are protein - protein reactions reversible ?

Answer 1

Yes all of them

Question 2

What is affinity ?

Answer 2

The strength of binding on 1 site of a molecule to its ligand

Question 3

What is avidity ?

Answer 3

The strength of binding of multiple sites of a molecule to its ligand

Question 4

What are Agarose Gel - Based Antibody Assays, and what are two important types?

Answer 4

Simple assays that take advantage of the fact that when Ab’s bind to an antigen the complex precipitates.
Immunodiffusion and Immunoelectrophoresis

Question 5

What is immunodiffusion and what is it good for?

Answer 5

Immunodiffusion can detect antibody specific for a particular antigen and is useful for simple antigen mixtures only

Question 6

What is immunoelectrophoreses and what is ti good for ?

Answer 6

Involves electrophoretic separation of antigens and can be used for more complex antigen mixtures

Question 7

What are some problems with Immunoelectrophoresis?

Answer 7

The sensitivity is poor and it is non-quantitative

Question 8

What are the three steps of immunoelectrophoresis?

Answer 8

1. Serum samples are added to an immunoelectrophoresis plate
2. Serum components are separated by electrophoresis.
3. Rabbit anti-human serum is added to the central trough and diffuses into the plate forming precipitin lines.

Question 9

What is nephelometry used for ?

Answer 9

It is used to determine levels of IgM, IgG, and IgA from a serum plasma sample.

Question 10

What is Titer ?

Answer 10

The quantity of a substance required to react or to correspond to a given amount of another substance.

Question 11

What is Ab Titer?

Answer 11

Is a measurement of how much Ab an organism has produced that recognizes a particular antigen, expressed as the greatest dilution ratio that still gives a positive result.

Question 12

What is aggulation titer?

Answer 12

The highest dilution of a serum which causes clumping of microorganisms or other particulate antigens

Question 13

What is serial dilution?

Answer 13

Repeated dilution of a sample by the same dilution of a sample by the same dilution factor, typically performed in a microtiter plate.

Question 14

What is Hemagglutination ?

Answer 14

The agglutination of red blood cells caused by an antibody either for red blood cell antigens or for antigens that coat red blood cells or by the presence of viruses or other microbes.

Question 15

What is Direct Coomb’s Test ?

Answer 15

A test to detect Ab’s or complement proteins on the surface of RBC’s collected directly from a patient.

Question 16

In the Direct Coomb’s Test what will indicate autoimmune helolytic anemia?

Answer 16

Ab or complement proteins bound to RBC’s

Question 17

What is characterized by production of autoantibodies specific for RBC surface components?

Answer 17

Autoimmune disease

Question 18

What is the Coomb’s reagent

Answer 18

Antibodies

Question 19

What is the indirect Coomb’s test?

Answer 19

It is used to detect very low concentrations of RBC-specific AB’s present in a patients plasma / serum

Question 20

What is the indirect Coomb’s test used for?

Answer 20

Used for Cross matching prior to blood transfusions.

Used to detect atypical Ab’s in the serum of pregnant women.

Question 21

What is a monospot test ?

Answer 21

A hemagglutination test that is diagnostic for Epstein-Barr virus (infectous mononucleosis)

Question 22

What is a monospot test used for ?

Answer 22

Tests for Ab’s that agglutinate sheep RBC’s (Known as heterophil Ab’s)

Similar to indirect Coomb’s except that sheep RBC’s are used as the indicator cell

Question 23

What is a clone ?

Answer 23

A cell population that has descended from a single cell. are are essentially identical to the mother cell.

Question 24

With regard to antigens what does “mono” mean?

Answer 24

Single, in this case, with a single antigen specificity

Question 25

What is Hybridoma ?

Answer 25

A cloned hybrid cell line (B cell fused to a tumor cell) that produces antibody against a specific antigenic determinant.

Question 26

What is a monoclonal Antibody ?

Answer 26

A preparation of antibodies that was produced by a cloned hybridoma; each Ab molecule is identical

Question 27

What is a primary antibody ?

Answer 27

A test sample that may or may not contain Ab specific for a particular antigen

Question 28

What is a secondary antibody ?

Answer 28

An Ab that will detect the primary Ab; Typically conjugated to an indicator molecule

Question 29

What is convalescent Serum?

Answer 29

Serum from a person who has recuperated from a particular infection, e.g.. scarlet fever, which may be of use in treating a person with the same infection .

Question 30

What is acute phase serum?

Answer 30

Serum collected from the blood of a patient what is actively infected with a pathogen

Question 31

What is acute phase serum characterized by ?

Answer 31

An increase in IgM and a decrease in IgG pathogenic-specific antibody levels.

Question 32

How can antibodies be used as immunological tools?

Answer 32

They can be covalently linked to a variety of molecules that allow easy detection of Ab’s bound to their specific antigen.

Question 33

What can Ab’s be linked to ?

Answer 33

Radionucleotides (125 I)
Enzymes- detected with chromogenic substrates
Flourochromes-

Question 34

What are the advantages of Western Blot Analysis ?

Answer 34

• Purified Ag and / or Ab not required
• Very sensitive
• Non-Quantitative
• Low Throughput

Question 35

What is an enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay? What are the advantages ?

Answer 35

Quantitative measure of Ab specificity
Very Sensitive
Quantitative
High Throughput

Question 36

Which of the following assays could not be used to determine the amount of antigen specific Ab in a serum sample ?

1. Coomb’s assay
2. Indirect coomb’s Assay
3. Complement Fixation Assay
4. Western Blot
5. ELISA

Answer 36

4. Western blot is not a quantitative assay.