Pathopharmacology Test Quiz- Chapters 5 & 7

Women who inherit a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 experience a 50% to 80% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.

The most important environmental risk factors for hypertension are increased sodium intake, decreased physical activity, psychosocial stress, and obesity (but, as discussed later, the latter factor is itself influenced by genes and environment).

A common measure of the effect of a specific risk factor is the relative risk.

Endogenous antigens are synthesized within a cell and also may include those uniquely produced by cancerous cells.

Lung and colon cancers have proven to show a strong familial tendency.

BRCA1 mutations increase the risk of ovarian cancer among women (20% to 50% lifetime risk), and BRCA2 mutations also confer an increased risk of ovarian cancer (10% to 20% lifetime prevalence).

The precise portion of the antigen that is configured for recognition and binding is called its antigenic determinant, or epitope.

Active acquired immunity (active immunity) is produced by an individual after natural exposure to an antigen or after immunization, whereas passive acquired immunity (passive immunity) does not involve the host’s immune response at all.

Passive acquired immunity (passive immunity) does not involve the host’s immune response at all. Rather, passive immunity occurs when preformed antibodies or T lymphocytes are transferred from a donor to the recipient. This can occur naturally, as in the passage of maternal antibodies across the placenta to the fetus, or artificially, as in a clinic using immunotherapy for a specific disease.

Although generation of clonal diversity primarily occurs in the fetus, it probably continues to a low degree throughout most of adult life.

Many viruses (e.g., measles, herpes) are inaccessible to antibodies after initial infection because they do not circulate in the bloodstream but instead remain inside infected cells, spreading by direct cell-to-cell contact.

IgA can be divided into two subclasses, IgA1 and IgA2. IgA1 molecules are found predominantly in the blood, whereas IgA2 is the predominant class of antibody found in normal body secretions.

Unlike inflammation, which is nonspecifically activated by cellular damage as well as pathogenic microorganisms, the immune response is primarily designed to afford long-term specific protection (i.e., immunity) against particular invading microorganisms, that is, it has a “memory” function.

This process is called the generation of clonal diversity and occurs in specialized (primary) lymphoid organs; the thymus for T cells and the bone marrow for B cells.

Foremost among the criteria for immunogenicity is the antigen’s foreignness. A self-antigen that fulfills all these criteria except foreignness does not normally elicit an immune response. Thus most individuals are tolerant to their own antigens. The immune system has an exquisite ability to distinguish self (self-antigens) from non-self (foreign antigens).

The IgA molecules found in bodily secretions are dimers anchored together through a J-chain and “secretory piece.” This secretory piece is attached to the IgAs inside mucosal epithelial cells and may function to protect these immunoglobulins against degradation by enzymes also found in the secretions.

The symptoms of tetanus or diphtheria are mediated by specific toxins. To prevent harming the recipient of immunization, bacterial toxins are chemically inactivated so that they have lost most of their harmful properties but still retain their immunogenicity. These are referred to as toxoids.

Prevalence rate is the proportion of the population affected by a disease at a specific point in time. Prevalence is thus determined by both the incidence rate and the length of the survival period in affected individuals. (Incidence is the number of new cases)

An antibody, or immunoglobulin, is a serum glycoprotein produced by plasma cells in response to a challenge by an immunogen.

FH is caused by a reduction in the number of functional LDL receptors on cell surfaces. Lacking the normal number of LDL receptors, cellular cholesterol uptake is reduced and circulating cholesterol levels increase.

An autosomal dominant form of breast cancer accounts for approximately 5% of breast cancer cases in the United States.

This process is called the generation of clonal diversity and occurs in specialized (primary) lymphoid organs: the thymus for T cells and the bone marrow for B cells.

At birth, total IgG levels in the umbilical cord are near adult levels.

For most multifactorial diseases, empirical risks (i.e., risks based on direct observation of data) have been derived.

This is the initial response, or primary immune response. Typically, IgM is produced first, followed by IgG against the same antigen.

After approximately 5 to 7 days, IgM antibody specific for that antigen can be detected in the circulation.

To cause disease, most toxins must bind to surface molecules on the individual’s cells. Protective antibodies can bind to the toxins, prevent their interaction with cells, and neutralize their biologic effects.

The role of Treg cells is to control or limit the immune response to protect the host’s own tissues against autoimmune reactions.

If a woman has one affected first-degree relative, her risk of developing breast cancer doubles.

An essential set of recognition molecules are members of the MHC. Most antibody and cellular immune responses are dependent on antigen presentation by APCs. Another set of antigen-presenting molecules are members of the CD1 group.

Where does it occur? Central lymphoid organs: thymus for T cells, bone marrow for B cells.

IgG production is increased considerably, making it the predominant antibody class of the secondary response. It is often present in concentrations several times larger than those of IgM, and levels of circulating IgG specific for that antigen may remain elevated for an extended period of time.

Each route preferentially stimulates a different set of lymphocyte-containing (lymphoid) tissues and therefore results in the induction of different types of cell-mediated or humoral immune responses.

B-cell function is altered with age as shown by decreases in specific antibody production in response to antigenic challenge, with concomitant increases in circulating immune complexes and in circulating autoantibodies (antibodies against self-antigens).

Its role is to recognize antigen, but unlike circulating antibody, the receptor must communicate that information to the cell’s nucleus.

Without IL-2 production, the Th cell cannot efficiently mature into a functional helper cell.

Clonal selection, during which antigen selects those lymphocytes with compatible receptors, expands their population, and causes differentiation into antibody-secreting plasma cells or mature T cells.

Th2 cells produce IL-4, which suppresses Th1 and Th17 cells through their IL-4 receptors.

Antigens derived from viral or bacterial pathogens and those derived from cancer cells are hypothesized to induce a greater number of Th1 cells relative to Th2 cells.

For example, antigens derived from multicellular parasites and allergens are hypothesized as a result in production of more Th2 cells.