Lecture 6 - Genetics of Antigen receptors

Question 1

What is clonal selection?

Answer 1

When the useful lymphocyte is exposed to a pathogen epitope and expands

Question 2

How do antibodies and T-cell receptors change their structure to gain diversity?

Answer 2

Choose different V and J segments (gene rearrangement)

Question 3

True or False? There are no D segments in the light chain gene rearrangements.

Answer 3

True. Only the heavy chain contains genes from the D segments

Question 4

Where do T-cells develop?

Answer 4

The thymus

Question 5

What does imprecise joining of gene sequences cause?

Answer 5

Junctional diversity

Question 6

What is combinatorial diversity?

Answer 6

When any H chain joins with any L chain to give diversity

Question 7

What is junctional diversity?

Answer 7

P-nucleotide and N-nucleotide addition to give diversity

Question 8

Where on the gene are the C-region exons located?

Answer 8

3’ of the JH gene segments

Question 9

How does C-region class switching occur?

Answer 9

Recombination between the switch regions

Question 10

How are secreted forms of antibodies selected for?

Answer 10

Via alternative RNA processing giving different carboxyl termini