Unit 1.1 PLTW MI

Medical Intervention

Any measure whose purpose is to improve health or alter the course of disease

What are the seven categories used to categorize medical interventions?

Diagnostic,Pharmacology, Surgery, Rehabilitation, Medical Devices, Immunology, and Genetics

outbreak

A sudden rise in the incidence of a disease

pathogen

A specific causative agent of disease

Why is information about a patient's lifestyle and about possible environmental exposures important when investigating an outbreak?

It is important because you need to know if they could have come into contact with another person who is showing the same symptoms or if they were somewhere else where there was a reported disease.

What medical interventions can be used to treat and contain the outbreak of an infectious disease?

Washing your hands, antibiotics if possible, quarantine.

Bioinformatics

The collection, classification, storage, and analysis of biochemical and biological information using computers especially as applied in molecular genetics and genomics

Genome

The complement of an organism's genes; an organisms genetic material

What year did scientists complete the mapping of the human genome?

2003

When analyzing the DNA sequence the red peaks are labeled as_______

Thymine

When analyzing the DNA sequence the blue peaks are labeled as ________

Cytosine

When analyzing the DNA sequence the black peaks are labeled as ______

Guanine

What is the BLAST website we used useful for?

It is helpful in diagnosing the patient, and preventing further outbreak

While analyzing the DNA sequence, what should the unknown areas be labeled?

N

What pathogen was found in Sue's System?

Neisseria Meningitis

Why is PCR used in the process of DNA sequencing?

It is used because it can complete the process quickly and it can catch the small segments easily.

How can DNA sequencing be used to identify other classes of pathogens, such as viruses?

The sequencing can be compared to the DNA of viruses that are already known.

Explain how sequence data and information about patient symptoms led you to diagnose Sue's illness.

The sequencing was the most important part. Meningitis presents the same symptoms of many illnesses, so the data was able to pinpoint the cause of her sickness than guessing from her symptoms.

How can DNA sequencing be used to identify genetic risk for certain diseases and disorders?

Since the entire human genome has been sequenced, doctors and scientists have an idea of where and what the genetic diseases look like. They can now see what potential problems can occur now.

Antibody

A protein secreted by plasma cells (differentiated B cells) that binds to a particular antigen and marks it for elimination

Antigen

A macromolecule that elicits an immune response by lymphocytes.

Concentration

The amount of a specified substance in a unit amount of another substance

Solvent

A substance, usually a liquid, capable of dissolving another substance

Solute

A substance dissolved in another substance

Solution

A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances, which may be solids, liquids, gases, or a combination of these

What do many disease detection tests rely on?

Color Change

ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbant Assay)

linked to an antibody specific for the antigen or an enzyme linked to an anti-immunoglobulin specific for the antibody followed by reaction of the enzyme with a substrate to yield a colored product corresponding to the concentration of the test material

Enzyme

A protein serving as a catalyst; a chemical agent that changes the rate of reaction without being consumed by the reaction

To diagnose bacterial meningitis, it is necessary to obtain a sample of __________

Cerebral spinal fluid

Qualitative

Indicating whether a patient is positive or negative for the presence of the antigen or antibody

Quantitative

Determining how much of the detected substance is present

How do antibodies work to keep us well?

When antigens are detected in the body, cells work together to trigger the B lymphocytes to produce antibodies. Once the antibodies are produced they stay in the person's body so if the immune system encounters the antigen again, the antibodies are already there to fight the infection.

Epitope

A particular location within an antigen

polyclonal antibodies

Heterogeneous mixture of antibodies

monoclonal antibodies

a collection of identical antibodies that interact with a single antigen site

primary antibody

binds to protein of interest

secondary antibody

recognize and bind to primary antibodies

Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP)

covalently linked to an enzyme called _________ that lets us detect the presence of the antibody-antigen complex

HRP has a ______ catalytic activity

High

Serial dilution

A stepwise dilution of a substance in solition

Diluent

Liquid that is doing the diluting

How many categories are there that categorize medical interventions?

7

Immune System

The cells and tissues that recognize and attack foreign substances in the body

B lymphocytes

form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections

Who was patient 0?

Sue

Explain why antibodies allow scientists to target and identify specific disease agents.

The antibodies bind to the antigens, they oxidize and this creates the color change. The color change is what helps the scientists target the specific disease agents,

Why is the secondary antibody used in an ELISA test conjugated with an enzyme? What happens when this enzyme meets up with its substrate?

The secondary antibodies are joined to enzymes through a chemical process. The antibody then would be carrying an enzyme, so wherever the secondary antibody binds, the enzyme is also present. When the enzyme meets up with its substrate a color change will occur

Disease samples from two patients were collected and subjected to serial dilutions before running an ELISA. What does it mean if the disease can be detected in samples from one person only at a dilution of 1/5, but the disease can be detected in the other patient at a dilution of 1/5 and 1/100?

This means that the two patients have the disease, but the second patient has the disease at a stronger level than the first patient.

Describe a situation that illustrates why it is a good idea to complete the ELISA in triplicate.

One well could accidently get filled up to much and spill into the tube next to it and tamper with the outcome of the testing.

Why do you think college students living in dorms are populations that often see meningitis outbreaks?

People don't think before they drink after someone and people are in close quarters so they come into contact often.

How did ELISA data allows you to track the path of infection at the college?

We were able to see whos test results came back darkest in color, they were the one who has been sick the longest.

Discuss the limitations of using antigen concentration to deduce the path of infection. Be sure to refer to the workings of the human immune system.

The limitations of using antigen concentration to deduce the path of infection is that if someone was vaccinated the antibodies are already in the body so it limits antibodies to the disease built up. The ELSIA then would be incorrect. There are already memory cells in the blood.

The ELISA test can also be used to detect antibodies that are produced in response to a specific antigen. Using information about how you completed this ELISA experiment, outline a procedure to test for antibodies in the blood.

To begin an ELISA test, virus proteins are added to wells. These antigens bind to the plastic coating of the wells. A wash buffer is added to the solution to wash away any unbound antigen. The primary antibody is then added to the wells (or in this case, the sample). The wells are washed again, leaving only bound antibodies to the bound antigens. The secondary antibody is added to the wells and binds to the primary antibody. This antibody recognizes the patient IgM antibodies, bound to the antigens. The secondary antibody also has a colorimetric tag (changes colors) attached. The wells are then washed again and washes away any unbound secondary antibody. A substrate is then added to the wells and the bound secondary antibody will then begin to change colors due to the colorimetric tag. When this tag is exposed to the substrate, the colors will begin to change.

Explain why in sudden outbreaks, it may be better to test for disease antigens than for antibodies.

It is better to test for disease antigens than for antibodies because the body hasn't produced any antibodies to fight the disease.

Home pregnancy tests use ELISA technology. When a woman is pregnant, her body produces a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Explain how antibodies can be used to detect this hormone and are linked to the color change a woman may see on a positive test.

Antibodies can be used to detect this hormone in pregnancy tests because the hormone can act as an antigen. If the antigens are present, the antigens from the body will then bind with the antibodies in the pregnancy test. If a woman is pregnant, the more of this hormone will be in her system. Therefore more of this antigen will be in her system. The stronger the hormone is present, the more evident the results will be on the pregnancy test.