Molecular Diagnostics in Hematopathology

Question 1

1. If the DNA nucleotide sequence is 59-ATTAGC-39, then the
   mRNA sequence transcribed from this template is:
   a. 5’-GCUAAU-3’
   b. 5’-AUUAGC-3’
   c. 5’-TAATCG-3’
   d. 5’-UAAUCG-3’

Answer 1

d. 5’-UAAUCG-3’

Question 2

2. Cells with damaged DNA and mutated or nonfunctioning
   cell cycle regulatory proteins:
   a. Are arrested in G1 and the DNA is repaired
   b. Continue to divide, which leads to tumor progression
   c. Divide normally, producing identical daughter cells
   d. Go through apoptosis

Answer 2

b. Continue to divide, which leads to tumor progression

Question 3

3. To start DNA replication, DNA polymerase requires an
   available 39 hydroxyl group found on the:
   a. Leading strand
   b. mRNA
   c. Parent strand
   d. Primer

Answer 3

d. Primer

Question 4

4. Ligase joins Okazaki fragments of the:
   a. 59-to-39 template strand
   b. Lagging strand
   c. Leading strand
   d. Primer fragments

Answer 4

b. Lagging strand

Question 5

5. A 40-year-old patient enters the hospital with a rare form of
   cancer caused by faulty cell division regulation. This cancer
   localized in the patient’s spleen. An ambitious laboratory
   developed a molecular test to verify the type of cancer present. This molecular test would require patient samples
   taken from which two tissues?
   a. Abnormal growths found on the skin and in the bone
   marrow
   b. Normal splenic tissue and cancerous tissue
   c. Cancerous tissue in spleen and bone marrow
   d. Peripheral blood and cancerous tissue in the spleen

Answer 5

b. Normal splenic tissue and cancerous tissue

Question 6

6. One main difference between PCR and reverse transcriptase
   PCR is that:
   a. PCR requires primers
   b. PCR uses reverse transcriptase to elongate the primers
   c. Reverse transcriptase PCR forms millions of cDNA
   fragments
   d. Reverse transcriptase PCR requires ligase to amplify the
   target DNA

Answer 6

c. Reverse transcriptase PCR forms millions of cDNA
fragments

Question 7

7. Which one of the following statements about gel electrophoresis is false?
   a. The gel is oriented in the chamber with the wells at the
   positive terminal.
   b. A buffer solution is required to maintain the electrical
   current.
   c. The matrix of a polyacrylamide gel is tighter than that of
   an agarose gel.
   d. The larger DNA fragments will be closest to the wells of
   the gel.

Answer 7

a. The gel is oriented in the chamber with the wells at the
positive terminal.

Question 8

8. Autoradiography of DNA is the:
   a. Detection of radioactive or chemoluminescent oligonucleotides
   b. Exposure of the gel to UV light
   c. Transfer of DNA to a nitrocellulose filter
   d. Use of ethidium bromide to visualize the DNA banding
   pattern

Answer 8

a. Detection of radioactive or chemoluminescent oligonucleotides

Question 9

9. One major difference between endpoint PCR and real-time
   PCR is that:
   a. Endpoint PCR requires thermostable DNA polymerase,
   deoxynucleotides, and primers
   b. Endpoint PCR requires a separate step to detect the
   amplicons formed in the reaction
   c. Real-time PCR uses capillary gel electrophoresis to
   detect amplicons during PCR cycling
   d. Real-time PCR detects and quantifies amplicons using
   cleavage-based signal amplification

Answer 9

b. Endpoint PCR requires a separate step to detect the
amplicons formed in the reaction

Question 10

10. Which of the following statements about minimal residual
    disease is true?
    a. Clinical remission of hematologic cancers is determined by molecular techniques such as PCR and flow
    cytometry.
    b. Real-time quantitative PCR–determined copy number of
    BCR/ABL1 transcripts will always be lower in molecular
    remission than in clinical remission.
    c. Qualitative PCR that uses a known copy number of a
    target sequence is of use in determining minimal residual
    disease levels.
    d. Minimal residual disease assessment can aid physicians
    in making treatment decisions but does not yet offer
    insights into prognosis.

Answer 10

b. Real-time quantitative PCR–determined copy number of
BCR/ABL1 transcripts will always be lower in molecular
remission than in clinical remission.