Using Immunodiagnostics to Assess Host Immune Status Flashcards
What are the primary tissues sampled for assessing patient immune status?
blood, lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow
what has urine been used to diagnose?
immune-based cancers (i.e. multiple myeloma or B cell lymphoma)
what is the most common blood site for collection in humans? companion animals?
median cubital vein
cephalic or lateral saphenous veins
why does the blood clot once a needle is stuck into the vein?
activates the host’s coagulation cascade which is designed to create a biological band aid at the injection point
what are some anti-coagulants in tubes used to collect blood?
EDTA, heparin, sodium citrate
what is the fluid component of blood?
plasma
what does plasma consist of?
proteins (i.e. albumin, immunoglobulins), lipids, carbohydrates, electrolytes, metabolic waste products, hormones, possibly platelets and water
if the blood clots in a tube with no anticoagulant, then what can you collect from the blood after centrifuge?
serum
what does serum contain?
same components as plasma minus the coagulation protein factors and platelets
what does the blood consist of?
45% cells and 55% plasma
how much of the blood cells make up RBCs and how much WBCs?
98% RBC
1% WBC
what are the 5 types of leukocytes?
neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes,
basophils and eosinophils
what is the purpose of the 5-point leukocyte differential?
help assess general shifts in sub-populations of leukocytes
define serology
assays involving antigen-antibody interactions
what biologic activities of antibodies are serology tests based on?
agglutination, precipitation and complement activation.
what is serotyping?
antibodies used to screen for the presence of
different epitopes of a particular microorganism (i.e. Flu virus)
what does the association constant help define?
binding strength with which the antigen epitope binds to the paratope (antigen-binding site) of the antibody and is called affinity
Antibodies with _____ binding affinity bind more rapidly to antigen, tend to maintain
these bonds and have greater sensitivity in assays.
high
what does avidity measure?
total strength of the antibody-antigen complex, which is dependent on antibody affinity for the epitope, structural conformation of the antibody and antigen interaction, plus the antibody and antigen valence
what can antigen epitope valence and determinant number coupled with antibody composition (whole antibody vs fragments) impact?
cross linking
what is required for agglutination and precipitation?
cross-linking
what antigens cannot form cross-linking complexes and what is an example?
single epitope on its surface (univalent/unideterminant)
ex. hapten
what is the ideal scenario for cross-linking to occur?
antigen to have multiple epitopes (multideterminant) expressed multiple time
on the antigen surface (multivalent)
n agglutination reactions, it is possible to semi-quantify the quantity of antibody in a sample
(i.e. serum) using a fixed concentration of _________________ and increasing dilutions of the antibody.
particulate antigen
what is the prozone?
in samples where the antibody concentration exceeds antigen (antibody excess), cross linking can take place and thus agglutination cannot occur
what is the zone of equivalence?
once the antibody is further diluted to an optimal ratio of antigen to antibody, crosslinking occurs and manifests as agglutination
what is a titer?
highest dilution of the antibody sample that still yields a discernible agglutination
what is pro-zone?
Once the antibody sample diluted above the titer, the amount of antibody is to low and
the amount of antigen is in excess preventing cross-linking
why can pro-zone be applicable to both precipitation reactions and agglutination?
since the only difference is that the target is soluble antigen
what is zeta potential?
in some antigen-antibody reactions, the surface of some antigens can have an electrical charge which can impede binding, affecting some antibody isotypes like IgG but not IgM