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15.E: Immunodeficiency (Exercises)

  • Page ID
    7406
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    These are homework exercises to accompany Kaiser's "Microbiology" TextMap. Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell (unicellular), cell clusters or no cell at all (acellular). This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes. Viruses and prions, though not strictly classed as living organisms, are also studied.

    15.1: Primary Immunodeficiency

    Study the material in this section and then write out the answers to these questions. Do not just click on the answers and write them out. This will not test your understanding of this tutorial.

    1. Match the following:

      _____ Rare but severe primary immunodeficiencies occuring as the result of a rare recessive genetic defect in the immune responses that involves the development of B-lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes, or both and results in multiple, recurrent infections during infancy. (ans)

      _____ Common, less severe primary immunodeficiencies involving just one or more of the huge number of genes involved in the immune responses. They involve the decreased ability to combat just a single type of infection or a narrow range of infections and relate to an individual’s own unique genetics. (ans)

      _____ There may be greatly decreased humoral immunity but cell-mediated immunity remains normal. X-linked agammaglobulinemia and selective IgA deficiency are examples. May be treated with artificially-acquired passive immunization. (ans)

      _____ Primary immunodeficiencies that affect both humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity. There is a defect in both B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes, or just T-lymphocytes in which case the humoral deficiency is due to the lack of T4-helper lymphocytes. (ans)

      1. B-lymphocyte disorder
      2. combined B-lymphocyte and T-lymphocyte disorder
      3. novel primary immunodeficiency
      4. conventional primary immunodeficiency
    2. Infants born with a nonfunctional thymus develop frequent and severe infections. Explain. (ans)

    15.2: Secondary Immunodeficiency

    Study the material in this section and then write out the answers to these questions. Do not just click on the answers and write them out. This will not test your understanding of this tutorial.

    1. State what is meant by secondary immunodeficiency and list 4 possible contributing factors. (ans)
    2. Briefly give three mechanisms of HIV-induced immunodeficiency. (ans)

    This page titled 15.E: Immunodeficiency (Exercises) is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gary Kaiser via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.