A Physician Is Seeking Ways to Increase the Fine-Tuning of Antibody

question 43

Multiple Choice

A physician is seeking ways to increase the fine-tuning of antibody immune responses that occurs naturally during affinity maturation. The goal is to create 'super antibodies' with intensely high affinity for antigens. She decides to use a drug that can be injected into lymph nodes that will be highly mutagenic specifically to B-cells that are undergoing activation. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?

• A) Introducing a highly mutagenic drug into our systems to boost immunity? Are you nuts? This is going to cause cancer!
• B) It WILL work, and work well. B-cells naturally have a high degree of mutation in their hypervariable region DNA as they undergo activation, and this is what leads to the possibility of affinity maturation. Boosting that activity will dramatically increase the likelihood of that process.
• C) It won't work. Affinity maturation is a random mutation process, followed by selection of B cells with higher affinity for the antigen in question. It doesn't matter if you increase the NUMBER of mutations-they still need to be screened for affinity to the antigen, and you can only achieve a certain level of affinity. Beyond that, and any mutations in antibody genes are just 'extra' changes without any real effect.
• D) The delivery method makes this impractical. It *might* work, but there are many lymph nodes around the body. During an infection, they would ALL be filled with B cells undergoing the process of affinity maturation. How would you deliver the drug to all the lymph nodes in every area of the body?

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Definitions:

Flourishing

pertains to achieving an optimal state of well-being, involving the realization of an individual's potential and the attainment of meaningful goals.

Golden Mean

The desirable middle ground or moderate path between two extremes, especially in Aristotle's ethical philosophy.

Moderation

The action of reducing extremes or excesses; maintaining balance or avoiding any form of extremism.

Individual

Referring to a single person or thing, distinct from a group or aggregate.