CHANCE AND HYPERMUTATION

Somatic hypermutation is an amazing process which increases the diversity of the antibody response and can also lead to an increase in antibody affinity over time. As we noted in lecture, the human body has the potential to make 10 billion different antibodies from just a few gene regions and somatic hypermutation helps increase this diversity.


Somatic hypermutation is a process which essentially involves specific but semi-random mutation events which are focused only on a small region of the antibody genes.  The small region just happens to be the binding site of antibodies for foreign antigens.



Mutations at large in the genome are often deleterious, yet somatic hypermutation and a process of selection leads to positive benefit for the host.  Thus, from a design perspective we cannot say that all mutations or natural selection processes are neutral or bad or deleterious.

QUESTIONS


Give a brief explanation about how directed mutations work.


From a design perspective, why use a mutation process to increase antibody diversity and affinity?


What are some of the advantages involved in using a mutation system to increase immune function in this way?


DUE NOVEMBER 30

FIGHTING HIV using broadly neutralizing antibodies

Research on an AIDS vaccine has been ongoing for years. Very few positive results have been achieved. More recently the focus has been on broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). Broadly neutralizing antibodies show up naturally in a person infected with HIV only later in the infection. These antibodies have been shown to be effective in neutralizing the HIV virus but only if they appear early in HIV infection.  There is some discussion about developing bNAbs to fight the flu or ebola.  Also, there is discussion about isolating these antibodies from large numbers of people and pooling them to also make a passive immunization vaccine.

For HIV there is some investigation in trying to develop a vaccine which elicits bNAbs.

In your investigation of this problem, determine why the vaccines developed in the past have largely been ineffective in preventing AIDS.

Also, answer the following questions.

Why are bNAbs effective?


How do bNAbs work at the molecular level at the antibody binding site?

Why are they more effective than other antibodies in early infection?

Why are they produced later in HIV infection?

Could bNAbs be isolated and purified and used in a passive vaccine? If so how could they be harvested?
DUE  NOV 7

Antibiotics, Allergy, and the Early Microbiome



There has been a lot of research and a lot of claims about the ideas surrounding the hygiene theory, which has been a theory for over a decade.  The hygiene theory is a theory that suggests that the more exposure a baby and child has to microorganisms the less risk that the individual will suffer from autoimmune disease.  Now new data suggests that early exposure to antibiotics in babies and young children can lead to food allergies. 



GEOFF TOMPKINSON / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Universal Images Group

Rights Managed / For Education Use Only/ Retrieved  from the web Sept 2016/http://quest.eb.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/search/cephalosporin/1/132_1263451/Orally-active-antibacterial-Cephalosporins

Read this article and comment about the theory regarding how antibiotic use early in life could contribute to food allergy later in life.

Also comment on how exposure to microbes early in life helps the body and immune system become muted towards ingested food.

Comment on the specialized immune system which interfaces with the digestive system. How is it different from other parts of the immune system?

Also please add a citation of an article which helped you with your research on this topic.

Due October 10

Vaccine Controversy!!!!

The history of Immunology largely involves the discovery of vaccines. Vaccines have undoubtedly saved millions of lives over the decades they have been used. However vaccines are not without controversy. Many people think that there is link between vaccines and autism. I have an acquaintance who is a scientist who says it happened to his child.  There are some families that do not get vaccinated. There is some evidence that vaccines have caused the disease they are trying to prevent as in the recent case of polio vaccines..this is called VDPV..vaccine derived polioviruses. 


There are consequences to not being vaccinated also. In 2010 there was an outbreak of whooping cough, 10 babies in the Los Angeles area died! 


 Polio has raised its ugly head again in Africa just this year when officials thought it might be eradicated.





What should be our response as Christian biologists to this situation? There is a doctor in the LA area Dr Bob Sears who has some interesting things to say about this also.





Do some research and examine the evidence.  Do you think there is a link between autism and vaccine use?



Check out the VDPV cases. Have there been deaths in this case? How many cases of vaccine induced polio have been documented?  Is there enough evidence in this case to make all vaccine's suspect as dangerous?


Find Dr Sears views on vaccination. What do you think about Dr Sear's approach to vaccination do you think it has some merit? 
 
Would you or will you have your children vaccinated?

Do you think polio will be completely eradicated?

THIS BLOG IS DUE SEPT 17