BIO 149A - Immunology

Thought Questions for Exam 2

Hao Nguyen

 

1.   Identify the Antigen-Binding Site, membrane spanning domain, Complementary-Determining Regions, Variable Region, and Constant Region.

 

2.   What are gene segments?  How are they used during gene rearrangement?  Discuss the mechanism of gene rearrangement.  What is the function of gene rearrangement.  Gene rearrangement occurs in what cell type?

 

3.   Discuss the importance of diversity (or variability).  How is diversity achieved in TCR?  What region is most involved in diversity?

 

4.   Discuss Combinatorial Diversity versus Junctional Diversity.  When and in what cell type do these processes occur?  Describe the mechanism that involve these processes.

 

5.   Describe the maturation (or development) of T-lymphocytes starting with progenitors in the bone marrow and ending with the mature, naive T-cell.

 

6.   What is the Major Histocompatibility Complex?  What are the genes that can be found in this cluster?  How do these genes provide diversity to antigen presentation?

 

7.   How does antigen presentation on MHC class I differ from antigen presentation on MHC class II?  Describe the mechanism of both processes.

 

8.   How is the presence of Allogeneic MHC molecules connected to organ transplant rejection?  How are T-cell Receptors involved in this process?

 

9.   Describe naive T-cell activation (or priming).

 

10.  Describe all the signal transduction pathways (described in class) that may be involved as the result of T-cell Receptor activation.  What is a TCR complex and what are the components?

 

11.  How is T-cell differentiation induced?

 

12.  What are the function of the different T-cells?  Describe the mechanism for all these functions.

 

13.  Describe the process of selection during T-lymphocyte maturation.