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Problem 1
What is the primary difference between the innate and adaptive immune responses? a. The innate immune response does not distinguish between pathogens, while the adaptive immune response does. b. Only the innate immune response is activated by antigens. c. The adaptive immune response generates immunological memory and is more specific than the innate immune response. d. The innate immune response does not kill cells; the adaptive immune response does.
Problem 2
The overall role of the inflammatory response is to a. contain and eliminate foreign cells and material at the site of infection. b. increase heat at the site of infection to activate enzymes used in the immune response. c. produce antibodies that bind to and eliminate invading cells. d. increase blood flow at the site of a wound to flush out invading pathogens.
Problem 3
What is the difference between an epitope and an antigen?
Problem 4
What is one of the differences between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells? a. CD4+ cells are immature, and CD8+ cells are mature. b. CD4+ cells are activated, and CD8+ cells are not. c. CD4+ cells interact with class II MHC proteins, and CD8+ cells interact with class I MHC proteins. d. CD4+ cells activate cell-mediated responses, and CD8+ cells activate humoral responses.
Problem 5
Explain how gene recombination leads to the production of vast numbers of different B-cell receptors.
Problem 6
What steps are required for most B cells to become fully activated and differentiate into plasma cells?
Problem 7
Why is clonal selection necessary for the adaptive immune response but not the innate immune response? Select True or False for each statement. T/F The adaptive immune response uses receptors to recognize pathogens, and the innate immune response does not. T/F There is more receptor diversity in the adaptive immune response than in the innate immune response. T/F Cells in the innate immune response do not require activation, and those in the adaptive immune response do. T/F Clonal selection is used for targeting pathogens, and the innate immune response is used only to stop blood flow from the wound.
Problem 8
What would a vaccine have to contain to protect a patient from chicken pox? Explain why we don't have vaccines for HIV.
Problem 9
Which of the following outcomes would be expected if somatic hypermutation did not occur? a. The diversity of pattern-recognition receptors would be significantly lowered. b. B and T lymphocytes would not be able to produce receptors that recognize antigens. c. The adaptive immune response would not be activated by pathogens. d. The secondary immune response to a repeat infection would produce the same antibodies as those made in the primary immune response.
Problem 10
Propose a hypothesis to explain how self-reactive B cells are identified and eliminated during maturation.
Problem 11
What are two main criteria required for an RNA vaccine to be effective at protecting a vaccinated individual from a viral infection?
Problem 12
Self-amplifying RNA vaccines currently being developed are typically derived from alphaviruses—Class IV, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. Explain why an alphavirus is a good choice.
Problem 13
Dr. Anna Blakney, bioengineer and RNA scientist, as part of a multidisciplinary team, compared the immune response from different formulations for delivering self-amplifying RNA encoding a viral antigen to cells. The team tested a cationic polymer (pABOL) and three lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Five female mice per treatment group were intramuscularly immunized with increasing microgram (µg) doses of self-amplifying RNA formulated with PBS (phosphate-buffered saline control), pABOL, LNP1, LNP2, or LNP3. Blood was collected to measure the antibody responses at four (A) and six weeks (B). The colored dots represent individual animals, and the asterisks indicate 𝑃 values (for help interpreting the graph, see BioSkills 2 and 3). What conclusion is supported by the results shown in the dot plot graphs below?
Problem 14
Before the RNA is translated into a viral antigen that can induce an antibody response, what other cellular response could be triggered by a self-amplifying RNA vaccine?
Problem 15
Lipid nanoparticle formulations of self-amplifying RNA contain lipids, phospholipids, and cholesterol (for review, see Ch. 7, Section 7.5). By which process do they enter cells?
a. beating cilia
b. phagocytosis
c. receptor-mediated endocytosis
d. macropinocytosis
Problem 16
Compared with non-replicating mRNA vaccines, a smaller dose of self-amplifying RNA is needed to induce a protective immune response. What are possible advantages of being able to use a smaller dose of a vaccine during a pandemic?
