SAS/Review Flashcards
A patient receives a 10/10 HLA matched kidney from a relative. After 8 months the kidney function starts to decline and biopsy demonstrates chronic inflammation and arteriosclerosis (thickening/hardening of the vessels). Which cells mediate this process?
CD4+ helper T-cells, macrophages
This is chronic rejection; it takes months to years, and is associated wtih hardening and thickening of vessels and arteriosclerosis
Central CD4+ T-cell tolerance occurs in which of the following tissues?

E - the thymus
Central tolerance occurs in thymus through negative selection; T-cells with high affinity for self peptides presented by MHC undergo apoptosis or become TRegs
26-year-old woman returns from a safari vacation in Tanzania with fever and body aches. She received no vaccines prior to her trip and did not take malaria prophylaxis. Her blood smear is shown. What infection does she have?

A. Plasmodium falciparum
B. Plasmodium vivax
C. Trypanosoma cruzi
D. Leishmania donovani
A. Plasmodium falciparum
Infects many RBCs, causes clumping of RBCs
- P. vivax* does not cause clumping, infects <2% of RBCs (reticulocytes only)
- Trypanosoma* would be in its wiggly form (trypomastigote) in the blood
- Leishmania* don’t live in the blood
Which complement protein is good at opsonizing bacteria?
C3b
You are treating a 35 year old patient with shingles.
What illness did this patient likely have as a child?
What is unusual or concerning about this presentation?
The patient likely had chicken pox (Varicella zoster virus) as a child; shingles is a reactivation of VZV
The presentation of shingles in this patient is concerning because they are young; VZV usually re-activates when the patient’s T-cell function is less than optimal, which happens naturally with age.
Because the patient is young, we might suspect a pathology that is suppressing the function of T-cells
What does it mean if an organism is oxidase positive?
Which organisms are oxidase positive?
Oxidase positive = has cytochrome C in cell membrane = all are aerobic (either strict or facultative)
- Pasteurella
- Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
- Campylobacter
- Vibrio
- Helicobacter
- Neisseria
List some of the relevant encapsulated organisms
SCHENK-PB
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Cryptococcus neoformans
- Haemophilus influenzae
- E. coli (some)
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Bacillus antrhacis
Which cytokines induce Th2 T cells?
What are the major cytokines produced by Th2 T cells?
What does this trigger?
What is the result?
Th2 cells are induced by IL-4
Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-13
This triggers stimulation of IgE, production/activation of mast cells and eosinophils
-> Host defense against helminthic parasites
~but may cause~
-> Allergies; allergic rhinitis, anaphylaxis, asthma (mediates class switching to IgE)
Which immune component mediates chronic organ rejection?
What is the time scale?
Which antigens are causing problems?
CD4+ helper T cells, macrophages
Months/years
MHC minor proteins
(Characterized by hardening/thickening of vessels, arteriosclerosis)
Which cells express CTLA-4?
What does CTLA-4 do in the body?
TRegs express CTLA-4
B7 on APCs binds CTLA-4
- This blocks costimulation by blocking CD-28 on T-cells from binding to B7
- This dampens the Th2 CD4+ T cell response, thus inhibiting IL-2 secretion
Which component of the immune system is particularly important in fighting fungal infections?
- Th17 CD4+ helper T cells
- Secrete IL-17 -> Promote neutrophilic inflammation
- Respond to extracellular pathogens (like fungus)
- IgA
- Can dimerize and cross epithelium of the gut; fight the organism before it even enters the cells of the body
Which fungus is most likely to cause meningitis?
Cryptococcus
A patient has a history of recurrent infections, many of which are pyogenic and/or granulomatous
Notable organisms include serratia marcescens and staph. aureus
Defects in which immune cells are suspected?
Neutrophils;
This pattern is indicative of a failure to kill organisms that have been phagocytosed;
- A defect in NAPDH oxidase would result in persistent, abscess forming infections, especially from catalase (+) organisms
- Catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide, preventing the formation of hypochlorite ion; an oxidative burst is needed to kill them
Which antibodies, prescribed in cancer treatment, would enhance T-cell activation?
What are the possible consequences?
Anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA-4 antibodies enhance T-cell activation
Potential problem = loss of peripheral tolerance -> autoimmune response
List the relevant obligate intracellular pathogens
- Viruses
Bacteria: Really, Check your Cox My People (it’s an obligation)
- Chlamydia
- Rickettsia
- Coxiella
- Mycobacterium leprae
- Plasmodium
Parasites - Toxic Toilet Paper = LeManiacsCrying
(they can’t stop, they have to cry)
- Toxoplasma
- Trypanosoma
- Pneumocystis
- Cryptosporidium
- Leishmania
What does IFN-gamma do?
Stimulates phagocytosis by macrophages
Increases expression of MHC I and MHC II
Promotes Th1 response
Inhibits Th2 response
What are the symptoms of antibody deficiency?
Infection with pyogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus pneumoniae)
Which fungi are associated with pneumonia?
* = Fungi that can infect healthy people (others typically infect immunocompromised)
- Histoplasma*
- Blastomyces*
- Coccidioides*
- Aspergillus
- Pneumocystis
- agents of mucormycosis
Increased susceptibility to Neisseria is asosciated with deficiencies in which components of the immune system?
Complement proteins from C5-C9; deficiencies of these complement proteins prevent the formation of the membrane-attack complex (MAC) (via the classic pathway) that is required to kill neisseria
Deficiencies in Factor D and properdin, required for the alternate complement pathway, also result in increased risk of Neisserial infections
Infections are likely to be recurrent and invasive
What are the major risk factors for Clostridium botulium infection?
Home-canned foods (everyone; spores germinate in the can)
Honey (babies; the spores can germinate in the baby)
Causes flaccid paralysis
What does TNF-alpha do?
Proinflammatory cytokine
Many effects!
What is the clinical presentation of a neutrophil defect?
Abscesses of skin, soft tissue lymph nodes, bone, and liver
(S. aureus, Klebsiella spp)
Which agent is used to treat pneumocystis?
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
Although pneumocystis is a fungus, it must be treated wtih trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole; other anti-fungal agents won’t work
A patient presents with 3 days of painful rash (shown below) that is isolated on his right buttock and thigh
He is not taking any medications and reports no allergies
What is the most likely cause of this rash?

Varicella Zoster Virus
- Isolated; does not cross midline
- Painful






















