Immunology Final Exam, 2012
A Week in the Life of a Pathogen
Instructions: This take-home, open-book but closed person exam is due via
turnitin.com (instructions to come) no later than 1:30 pm Thursday, May 3 (2012). Each
of you will be answering the same question about a different “pathogen”. Do not wait
until the last minute to do this test - experience tells me that this will take you longer than
2 hours to complete! (However, 10 pages is truly overkill…aim for around 5). Good
luck –and if you are unsure as to what I am looking for, don’t hesitate to ask!
The Question: You are _____________________ (fill-in-the-blank with whatever you
pulled from the hat in class). How do you normally enter your intended victim? What
cell/tissue types do you effect? Are toxins your major form of damage, or do you directly
damage cells?
With this mode of infection/damage in mind, discuss the innate immune system
components that you are most likely to have to avoid in order to successfully infect your
host (for example, if you are gastrointestinal, you don’t need to discuss lung
macrophages!). Be sure to discuss innate barriers as well as immediate and early, induced
innate responses, as appropriate.
Which effector lymphocyte type is most likely to attack you (choose one and only
one even if more than one is obviously involved)? Discuss all of the developmental
stages for that lymphocyte, and how the lymphocyte is stimulated to make the effector
molecules that are appropriate to fight you. What effect(s) do those effector molecules
have on you? (*NOTE – Do not go into molecular detail regarding the generation of
antibody/TCR diversity or regarding the cell-signaling pathways that activate the cell
following receptor binding)
Last, but not least, some of you have means of evading host defenses. If you do,
discuss one of those mechanisms. If you do not, discuss the mechanism(s) by which
either vaccines or drugs could be used to inactivate you (this may take some outside
reading).
Your finished final exam must contain the following electronically-signed statement:
(Unsigned tests will be given a “0”).
“By turning in this signed final exam, I certify that all of the work on this test is my own,
and that I have not conversed with any other person (except Dr. Tobin) regarding the
contents of this exam, nor the contents of my answers. I understand that plagiarism will
not be tolerated and that all sources of information must be properly cited. Any deliberate
deviations from these rules will result in my receiving a zero as a grade for the final
exam, and a report will be sent to the Dean of Students Office for possible further judicial
action, as outlined in the student handbook.”
Name:
Date: