lab techniques and immunological disorders

Question 1

what are the 3 areas that can be found within antibody/antigen mixtures

Answer 1

antibody excess, equivalence point, antigen excess

Question 2

what is the antibody excess

Answer 2

The concentration of antibody exceeds that of the antigen

Question 3

what is the equivalence point

Answer 3

The concentration of antibody is equal to that of the antigen

Question 4

what is antigen excess

Answer 4

The concentration of antigen exceeds that of the antibody

Question 5

what are the main techniques for studying immunology and haematology

Answer 5

• agarose gel electrophoresis
• ELISA
• western blot
• immunocytochemistry
• immunohistochemistry

Question 6

what is gel electrophoresis

Answer 6

the separation by the movement of charged molecules in an applied electrical field (most commonly in the pcr test for DNA )

Question 7

do smaller or larger molecules move further down the electrophoresis plate

Answer 7

smaller

Question 8

why do the DNA fragments move down a gel electrophoresis plate

Answer 8

because they’re negatively charged

Question 9

what does the movement of the molecules depend on

Answer 9

size, shape, electrical field strength

Question 10

why is a buffer added to the gel electrophoresis

Answer 10

to provide electrolytes to facilitate the movement of current

Question 11

what is the gel for in a gel electrophoresis

Answer 11

• retards the movement of molecules according to their dimensions

Question 12

what is the loading end of a gel electrophoresis plate

Answer 12

the side where the wells are

Question 13

what does ELISA stand for

Answer 13

enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Question 14

what are the main steps of the ELISA test

Answer 14

1 - well is pre-coated with capture antibody
2 - antigens are introduced, including the one of interest
3 - antigen binds to capture antibody
4 - enzyme-labelled detection antibody binds to analyte
5 - the interaction of substrate and enzyme creates a colour change

Question 15

what is immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry use for

Answer 15

its used to determine the anatomical location of an antigen

Question 16

how do immunocyto and immunohistochemistry work

Answer 16

-a frozen sample of tissue is frozen with a labelled antibody (fluorescent probe)
- the bound antigen is then located using microscopy
- this gives a visual image

Question 17

what are the 2 types of auto immune disease

Answer 17

organ specific and non-specific (systemic)

Question 18

what is organ specific auto immune disease

Answer 18

where antibodies and T cells react to self antigens localised in a specific tissue

Question 19

what’s an example of organ specific autoimmune disease and what organ does it effect

Answer 19

narcolepsy - the brain/ neurological system

Question 20

what’s an example of a non-specific autoimmune disease

Answer 20

lupus

Question 21

how do auto immune diseases develop

Answer 21

they’re developed due to genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers

Question 22

how can virus’s trigger an auto immune disease

Answer 22

if the virus mimics the shape of the bodies antibodies it can cause the body to attack itself as it cannot separate the virus to the bodys own antigen

Question 23

what is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)

Answer 23

when a mother becomes diabetic during pregnancy due to a lack of insulin production and an excess of free glucose

Question 24

what are the maternal impacts of GDM

Answer 24

hypertension (high BP), preterm labour

Question 25

what are the neonatal outcomes of GDM

Answer 25

birth trauma and jaundice

Question 26

when are the symptoms of GDM usually resolved

Answer 26

post partum

Question 27

what effect does diabetes have on men

Answer 27

decreased sperm values and motility

Question 28

what happens to the body when they’re infected with AIDS

Answer 28

B cell lymphoma become aggressive, and a depletion of CD4+ T cells
- explosion of viral replication
- HIV specific CD8+ T cells respond to kill infected cells and produce HIV specific antibodies
- CD4+ T cells gradually decline - virus kills infected cells - infected cells are susceptible to apoptosis or are destroyed by CD8+ cells