Assignment

1. Imagine that you are trying to discover the causative agent for a new disease called "Coastline Fever". Describe how you could identify the causative agent for Coastline Fever and determine its reservoir and mode of transmission.

2. You are working for a transplant team that is responsible for tissue typing to determine the compatibility between donor and recipient tissues. What molecules will you be looking at on these tissues? Explain how these molecules are formed and why the likelihood of a perfect match is very low but slightly higher with a sibling. Also include what these molecules do.

3. Explain the process of inflammation. Include the cells, stages and molecules involved in the process. Also describe the 4 signs of inflammation and what part of the process causes each sign.

4. Listeria is a gram positive bacillus that can cause gastroenteritis when ingested in contaminated meat and dairy products. Once Listeria is free in the tissues, the humoral immune system will be activated to produce antibodies against Listeria. Outline how antibodies are produced including all of the cells, molecules and activities involved. Also discuss how antibodies help attack the Listeria antigen.

5. Probably the most debilitating problem during an HIV infection is the fact that HIV specifically infects and kills T helper cells. Describe A) How T helper cells are activated and B) Why they are so important to the entire immune system.

6. Medical science is only beginning to understand cancer, its causes and its link to our immune system. What is cancer? What causes a cell to become cancerous? How would a cancerous cell be detected and then destroyed by the immune system? (Include cells, molecules and any chemicals involved.)

7. Explain the phenomenon of Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. Be sure to include what cells and molecules are involved and the primary immune mediators. Also describe the treatment and how it works.

8. Your cousin was just diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and she calls you for information about her diagnosis. She heard that Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease but doesn't know what that means. Explain autoimmunity in general and Type 1 Diabetes specifically. Include in your discussion: what an autoimmune disease is, how the body protects against the development of autoimmune diseases, how an autoimmune disease can develop and what happens in Type 1 Diabetes.