The Immune System Flashcards

Question

How is cancer treated by monoclonal antibodies

Answer 1

Cancer cells have antigens called tumour markers not found on normal body cells Monoclonal antibodies can be made that will bind to the tumour markers You can attach anti-cancer drugs to the antibodies Drug only accumulates in the body where there are cancer cells meaning it has less side-effects than other drugs as only accumulate near specific cells

Answer 2

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Allows you to see if a patient has any antibodies to a certain antigen or vice versa Can be used to test for pathogenic infections allergies or pretty much anything you can make an antibody for

Answer 3

Direct ELIZA - uses a single antibody that is complimentary to the antigen you are testing for Indirect ELIZA - uses 2 antibodies

Answer 4

HIV antigen bound to bottom of well in well plate Sample of patient’s blood plasma added to the well. If there are any HIV specific antibodies these will bind to the HIV antigens stuck to the bottom of the well. This is then washed out to remove any unbound antibodies Secondary antibody that has a specific enzyme attached to it is added to the well Secondary antibody can bind to the HIV specific antibody The well is then washed out to remove any unbound secondary antibody A solution is added to the well - contains a substrate which is able to react with the enzyme attached to the secondary antibody and produce a coloured product If the solution changes colour it indicates the patient has HIV specific antibodies in the blood and so is infected with HIV

Answer 5

Vaccines tested on animals before before humans disagreements with animal testing Testing vaccines on humans volunteers - may put themselves at unnecessary risk of contracting the disease as they think they are fully protected Some people don’t want to take the vaccine risk of side-effects but still protected due to herd immunity (unfair?) Animals used to produce cells from which the monoclonal antibody is all produced - disagreements

Answer 6

Human immunodeficiency virus | Causes AIDS - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Answer 7

Where are you immune system deteriorates and eventually fails make them more vulnerable to other infections

Answer 8

HIV infects helper T-cells which acts as the host cells TH cell sends chemical signals to activate phagocytes, cytotoxic T cells and B cells - hugely important AIDS is developed when the level of helper T cells in the body is critically low

Answer 9

CORE contains RNA and some proteins Outer coating of protein - CAPSID Extra outer layer - ENVELOPE - made from stolen membrane of previous host cell Attachment proteins stick out of the envelope - these help HIV attached to the host helper T-cell

Answer 10

Attachment protein attaches to a receptor molecule on the membrane of helper T-cell Capsid released into cell - uncoats and releases genetic material into the cytoplasm In the cell reverse transcriptase is used to make a complimentary strand of DNA from the viral RNA template Host cell enzymes are used to make viral proteins from the viral DNA The viral proteins are assembled into new viruses which bud from the cell and go on to infect other cells

Answer 11

During the initial infection infected person may experience flu like symptoms After this HIV replication drops this is the latency period

Answer 12

Usually 10 years

Answer 13

Minor infections of mucus membranes Reoccurring respiratory infections Progresses as number of immune system cells decreases More susceptible is it to serious infection Late stages very few immune system cells - develop serious infections that eventually kill patient

Answer 14

Antibiotics kill bacteria by interfering with their metabolic reactions They are designed to only target the bacterial ones so they don’t damage human cells Viruses don’t have their own ribosomes/enzymes - they use the host ones Antibiotics therefore cannot inhibit them as they don’t target human processes

Answer 15

At the very few virus specific enzymes that exist e.g. reverse transcriptase

Answer 16

Currently no cure Anti-viral drugs can be used to slow down the progression Best way to control it is by reducing the spread One common spread is unprotected sex for infected bodily fluids Also contaminated mother to fetus

The Immune System Flashcards

(40 cards)