Past Exam Questions Flashcards
During excitotoxicity, the overactivation of glutamate NMDA receptors leads to
massive influx of Ca2+ and Na+ ions
During excitotoxicity, the overactivation of glutamate NMDA receptors leads to massive influx of Ca2+ and Na+ ions. What major downstream events cause neuronal cell death? (Select all that apply)
- activation of Ca2+-sensitive proteases
- ATP production shutdown
- membrane budding
- osmotic swelling
- cellular shrinking
- activation of Ca2+ sensitive proteases
- ATP production shutdown
- osmotic swelling
Bcl-2 family members are known to play a role in
both survival and apoptosis
Which of the following are key molecules related to neuronal apoptosis? (Select all that apply)
- Bcl-2 family proteins
- Apaf-1 (Apoptosis activating factor-1)
- RIP1 (Receptor-interacting protein 1)
- Active MLKL (mixed-lineage kinase domain like)
- Bcl-2 family proteins
- Apaf-1 (Apoptosis activating factor-1)
Among those listed below, which event leads to the execution of necroptosis?
- RIP kinase inactivation
- dimerization of LAMP2
- multimerization of MLKL
- multimerization of MLKL
what MAP is found in axons
Tau (MAPT)
fission and fusion require
energy
Which if the following complexes is a site of superoxide (O*2) production in the mitochondrial electron transport chain: (Select all that apply)
- Complex I (NADH-ubiquinone reductase)
- Complex II (Succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase)
- Complex III (Ubiquinol cytochrome c oxidoreductase)
- Complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase)
- Complex V (F1F0-ATP synthase)
- Complex 1
- complex 3
The electron transport system resides in the _______ membrane of mitochondria and transfers electrons through a series of ______ reactions. This is done by each complex in the system transporting _____ out of the matrix.
inner, redox reactions, protons
sequence of the lactate shuttle hypothesis
Glutamate released by neurons → glutamate captured by astrocytes → astrocytes convert glutamate to glutamine → neurons take up lactate → neurons convert lactate to pyruvate
astrocytes possess a
high glycolysis capacity
T or F: astrocytes rely primarily on oxidative phosphorylation for ATP production
false, rely on glycolysis
T or F: neurons store glycogen
F, astrocytes store glycogen
_ express the pyruvate kinase M2
astrocytes
insulin activates what major pathways
- mTOR
- SOS/Grb2
- Akt
the family of molecular chaperones involved in late-stage protein folding and targeting substrates for proteolysis
HSP90
In which state are folded proteins most likely to become thermodynamically “stuck” and most difficult for chaperones to remodel?
fibrils
Which UPR pathways involves splicing of the XBP1 mRNA?
IRE1 alpha dependent pathway
What proteins are known to play a central role in regulating mitophagy
- parkin
- pink1
Proteins targeted for chaperone-mediated autophagy contain a ______ motif allowing ______ to bind.
KFERQ, HSC70
Which form of autophagy relies upon the involvement of p62 and NBR1 as cargo receptors?
aggrephagy
Amyloids are insoluble fibrillary protein aggregates which constitute common pathologic feature of many neurodegenerative diseases. What molecular determinants characterize these deposits?
- they share a cross-β pattern by X-ray diffraction studies
- they are composed of one protein
Secondary nucleation refers to what process in amyloid fibril formation?
The formation of new amyloid fibrils from contact of amyloid monomers to pre-existing fibrils
What are some strategies cells use to combat protein aggregation? (Select all that apply)
- Remodeling via chaperones
- Disaggregation via chaperones
- Removal of aggregates via internal transport
- Degradation of proteins via autophagy
- Remodeling via chaperones
- Disaggregation via chaperones
- Degradation of proteins via autophagy
Deleterious mutations in the NF1 gene cause an autosomal dominant condition called Neurofibromatosis. In a typical pedigree, all family members inheriting the NF1 mutation show symptoms of the condition, but the severity of these symptoms can present very differently from one affected individual to another. This is an example of:
Broad Expressivity
Examples of post translatoinal histone modifications that constitue an epigenetic mechanism
- acetylation
- methylation
- phosphorylation
T or F: glycosylation is an epigenetic change to post translationally histone
false
T or F: Cre-LoxP system requires endonucleases
F
T or F: Cre-LoxP system can be used for insertaion or deletion of genes
T
Components needed for CRISPR
- Cas9
- Guide RNA
- Target sequence
- PAM site
To better understand the role of α-synuclein, the main component of inclusions in Parkinson’s disease, you want to create a novel conditional mouse line. With the agreement of your thesis supervisor, you decide to order a pCaMKIIα-Cre line and a line in which the SNCA gene (encoding for α-synuclein) is flanked by LoxP sites to perform your studies. What will happen to your F1 bigenic mice?
the expression of SNCA will be ablated in neurons expressing CaMKIIα
Complement protein cascades generally follow 1 of 2 pathways: the ___________ pathway in which a number of microorganisms spontaneously activate the complement system or the __________ pathway that is activated by antibodies bound to the pathogen surface.
alternative, classic
Vaccines induce a ______ antibody response meaning that if natural infection occurs a _______ antibody response is triggered to fight infection.
primary, secondary
Which cytokines drive T cell division and activation during antigen presentation?
IL-2 & IL-4
Identify the FALSE statement about memory T or B cells.
- Have previously encountered and responded to a particular antigen
- Survive in an inactive state in the host for a short period of time
- At a second encounter with the antigen, memory T or B cells can reproduce to mount a faster and stronger immune response than the first time the immune system responded to the antigen
Survive in an inactive state in the host for a short period of time