Human Anatomy and Physiology : Help with Proteins and Signals of Innate Immunity

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Human Anatomy and Physiology

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

A woman is admitted to the hospital in serious need of a blood transfusion. The woman is determined to have B negative blood.

Which of the following blood types can be transfused safely into the patient?

Possible Answers:

B positive

O negative

A negative

O positive

Correct answer:

O negative

Explanation:

Since the woman is B negative, she makes antibodies against A blood as well as Rh positive blood. This means that blood that has either A or positive antigens cannot be transfused. Type O blood does not carry any surface antigens. If the blood is O negative, it can safely be transfused into a B negative patient.

Example Question #2 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

The human immune system is organized along two broad arms: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The differences between these two approaches to immunity are not always black and white, but can be described in general terms with regard to immunological memory. Adaptive immunity displays this type of memory, and mounts a more intense response to pathogens upon second and subsequent exposures.

Within adaptive immunity, the system is further divided into humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity. We can say that antibodies are the primary mediators of the former, while CD8 T-cell based cytotoxicity is the mediator of the latter.

CD4 T-cells, unlike their CD8 counterparts, are involved in both the humoral and cell-mediated arms of adaptive immunity. These CD4 cells drive isotype switching, a process that changes the types of antibodies produced after initial exposure to a pathogen to increase their molecular affinity. Additionally, CD4 cells promote the activity of macrophages to directly digest invading pathogens.

Neoplasms of the immune system are often classified by which surface proteins are present on rapidly dividing cells. A physician is evaluating a patient with a B-cell lymphoma. Which of the following normally present surface proteins is most likley used as a marker for a B-cell lymphoma?

Possible Answers:

CD42L

CD42

CD19

CD56

CD28

Correct answer:

CD19

Explanation:

CD19, CD20, and CD21 are all normal B-cell surface proteins and can thus be used as markers for B-cell lymphomas.

Example Question #3 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

The human immune system is organized along two broad arms: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The differences between these two approaches to immunity are not always black and white, but can be described in general terms with regard to immunological memory. Adaptive immunity displays this type of memory, and mounts a more intense response to pathogens upon second and subsequent exposures.

Within adaptive immunity, the system is further divided into humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity. We can say that antibodies are the primary mediators of the former, while CD8 T-cell based cytotoxicity is the mediator of the latter.

CD4 T-cells, unlike their CD8 counterparts, are involved in both the humoral and cell-mediated arms of adaptive immunity. These CD4 cells drive isotype switching, a process that changes the types of antibodies produced after initial exposure to a pathogen to increase their molecular affinity. Additionally, CD4 cells promote the activity of macrophages to directly digest invading pathogens.

The innate immune system is usually the first system to respond to invading pathogens. As part of its initial response, innate immune cells must leave the circulation and enter the peripheral tissues where pathogens are present. The process by which immune cells leave the circulation is first initiated by adhesion proteins that make cells stick to the side of blood vessel walls, before they cross the vessel and enter the periphery. Which of the following proteins is most likely involved in mediating adhesion?

Possible Answers:

ICAM-1

IFN-beta

IFN-alpha

IL-4

TNF-alpha

Correct answer:

ICAM-1

Explanation:

All of these options, except ICAM-1, are soluble mediators that drive different elements of immune response. These soluble mediators are more like cytokines than is ICAM-1, which is a structural adhesin that facilitates polymorphonuclear cells sticking to the side of blood vessels. This neutrophil margination is the first step toward diapedesis, or the crossing of the cells into the peripheral tissue to carry out their function.

Example Question #1 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

Which of the following is overexpressed during rheumatoid arthritis?

Possible Answers:

Histamine

TNF-alpha

Bradykinin

IL-2

Correct answer:

TNF-alpha

Explanation:

TNF-alpha is routinely involved in inflammation and helps regulate the response of the cells of the innate immune system. Overexpression of TNF-alpha can lead to overstimulation of these immune cells, resulting in the autoimmune disorder of rheumatoid arthritis.

Example Question #1 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

Which of the following is not a direct result of complement activation? 

Possible Answers:

Formation of the membrane-attack complex

Enhancement of the ability of phagocytic cells to kill microorganisms 

Inflammation 

Attraction of neutrophils and macrophages to the site of infection 

Vasoconstriction

Correct answer:

Vasoconstriction

Explanation:

When complement is activated, blood vessels dilate, not constrict. Direct consequences of complement activation include: membrane attack complex forms, dilates blood vessels, attracts neutrophils and macrophages, inflammation, mast cells stimulated, bacteria is made more readily engulfed or opsonized, and antibody-antigen complexes are solubilized. 

Example Question #3 : Help With Proteins And Signals Of Innate Immunity

What is the function of a chemokine? 

Possible Answers:

Kill tumor cells 

Recruit other immune cells to the sight of infection 

Antiviral 

Growth and differentiation of leukocytes 

Activates inflammatory response 

Correct answer:

Recruit other immune cells to the sight of infection 

Explanation:

Chemokines are a type of cytokine (signaling molecule) that recruits other cells to the sight of an infection. Interferons have antiviral properties and activate the inflammatory response, interleukins are responsible for growth and differentiation of leukocytes, and tumor necrosis factor is responsible for mediating many immune functions and facilitates the destruction of tumor cells. 

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors