Immunopathology Practice Questions

Question 1

A scientist in Chicago is studying a new blood test to detect Ab to EBV with increased sensitivity and specificity. So far, her best attempt at creating such an exam reached 82% sensitivity and 88% specificity. She is hoping to increase these numbers by at least 2 percent for each value. After several years of work, she believes that she has actually managed to reach a sensitivity and specificity much greater than what she had originally hoped for. She travels to China to begin testing her newest blood test. She finds 2,000 patients who are willing to participate in her study. Of the 2,000 patients, 1,200 of them are known to be infected with EBV. The scientist tests these 1,200 patients' blood and finds that only 120 of them tested negative with her new exam. Of the patients who are known to be EBV-free, only 20 of them tested positive. Given these results, which of the following correlates with the exam's specificity?

Accepted Answer

98%

Answer

82%

Answer

90%

Answer

84%

Answer

86%

Question 2

A 40-year-old man presents to a clinic in Michigan in December complaining of painful blue fingers and toes. He also complains of numbness and tingling. The patient’s vital signs are within normal limits, and his symptoms typically disappear when he comes back into a warm room. The patient also notes that he recently moved to the area from Arizona and had recently recovered from a viral infection in which he had a low-grade fever and severe lymphadenopathy. Which of the following tests would most likely be positive in this patient?

Accepted Answer

Direct Coomb’s test with anti-C3 reagent

Answer

Anti-centromere antibody

Answer

Anti-Ro antibody

Answer

Indirect Coomb’s test

Answer

Direct Coomb’s test with anti-IgG reagent

Question 3

A researcher is studying the circulating factors that are released when immune cells are exposed to antigens. Specifically, she is studying a population of CD2+ cells that have been activated acutely. In order to determine which factors are secreted by these cells, she cultures the cells in media and collects the used media from these plates after several days. She then purifies a small factor from this media and uses it to stimulate various immune cell types. She finds that this factor primarily seems to increase the growth and prolong the survival of other CD2+ cells. Which of the following is most likely the factor that was purified by this researcher?

Accepted Answer

Interleukin-2

Answer

Interleukin-3

Answer

Interleukin-4

Answer

Interleukin-5

Answer

Interleukin-1

Question 4

A 3-year-old boy presents to the pediatrics clinic for follow-up. He has a history of severe pyogenic infections since birth. Further workup revealed a condition caused by a defect in CD40 ligand expressed on helper T cells. This congenital immunodeficiency has resulted in an inability to class switch and a poor specific antibody response to immunizations. Which of the following best characterizes this patient's immunoglobulin profile?

Accepted Answer

Increased IgM; decreased IgG, IgA, and IgE

Answer

Increased IgE and IgA; and decreased IgM

Answer

Increased IgE

Answer

Decreased IgA

Answer

Decreased Interferon gamma

Question 5

During an experiment, the immunophenotypes of different cells in a sample are determined. The cells are labeled with fluorescent antibodies specific to surface proteins, and a laser is then focused on the samples. The intensity of fluorescence created by the laser beam is then plotted on a scatter plot. The result shows most of the cells in the sample to be positive for CD8 surface protein. Which of the following cell types is most likely represented in this sample?

Accepted Answer

Mature cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Answer

Activated regulatory T lymphocytes

Answer

Inactive B lymphocytes

Answer

Dendritic cells

Answer

Mature helper T lymphocytes

Question 6

A 78-year-old man presents to the emergency department because of confusion that started 2 hours ago. The patient’s daughter says that he has had blurred vision for several days. His right leg became weak 10 days ago, and he couldn’t walk for a few days before recovering. He was diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance 2 years ago. His temperature is 36.2°C (97.2°F), pulse is 75/min, respirations are 13/min, and blood pressure is 125/70 mm Hg. He also has gingival bleeding. Cervical lymphadenopathy is palpated on physical exam. Both the liver and spleen are palpated 5 cm below the costal margins. The serum protein electrophoresis with immunofixation is shown. Urine electrophoresis shows no abnormalities. A skeletal survey shows no abnormalities. Which of the following best explains these findings?

Accepted Answer

Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia

Answer

Multiple myeloma

Answer

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance

Answer

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Answer

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Question 7

You are currently employed as a clinical researcher working on clinical trials of a new drug to be used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Currently, you have already determined the safe clinical dose of the drug in a healthy patient. You are in the phase of drug development where the drug is studied in patients with the target disease to determine its efficacy. Which of the following phases is this new drug currently in?

Accepted Answer

Phase 2

Answer

Phase 4

Answer

Phase 1

Answer

Phase 0

Answer

Phase 3

Question 8

You are seeing a 4-year-old boy in clinic who is presenting with concern for a primary immune deficiency. He has an unremarkable birth history, but since the age of 6 months he has had recurrent otitis media, bacterial pneumonia, as well as two episodes of sinusitis, and four episodes of conjunctivitis. He has a maternal uncle who died from sepsis secondary to H. influenza pneumonia. If you drew blood work for diagnostic testing, which of the following would you expect to find?

Accepted Answer

Abnormally low number of B cells

Answer

Abnormally low number of T cells

Answer

Abnormally high number of B cells

Answer

Elevated immunoglobulin levels

Answer

Abnormally high number of T cells

Question 9

A 47-year-old woman presents to her physician for difficulty swallowing. She states that she intentionally delayed seeing a physician for this issue. She says her primary issue with swallowing is that her mouth always feels dry so she has difficulty chewing food to the point that it can be swallowed. On physical examination, her oral mucosa appears dry. Both of her eyes also appear dry. Several enlarged lymph nodes are palpated. Which of the following patterns of reactive lymphadenitis is most commonly associated with this patient’s presentation?

Accepted Answer

Follicular hyperplasia

Answer

Sinus hyperplasia

Answer

Diffuse hyperplasia

Answer

Mixed B and T cell hyperplasia

Answer

Paracortical hyperplasia

Question 10

A 51-year-old woman with hyperlipidemia comes to the physician because of weakness for one month. At the end of the day, she feels too fatigued to cook dinner or carry a laundry basket up the stairs. She also complains of double vision after she reads for long periods of time. All of her symptoms improve with rest. Her only medication is pravastatin. Physical examination shows drooping of the upper eyelids. Strength is initially 5/5 in the upper and lower extremities but decreases to 4/5 after a few minutes of sustained resistance. Sensation to light touch is intact and deep tendon reflexes are normal. Which of the following best describes the pathogenesis of this patient's condition?

Accepted Answer

Type II hypersensitivity reaction

Answer

Anterior horn cell destruction

Answer

Impaired acetylcholine release

Answer

Peripheral nerve demyelination

Answer

Adverse drug effect

Immunopathology

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