CHS Practice Exam (Certified
Histocompatibility Specialist) UPDATED
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Which of the following is not a secondary lymphoid organ?
a. Spleen
b. Thymus
c. Lymph nodes
d. Liver
e. Tonsils - CORRECT ANSWER Thymus
Primary lymphatic organs are where lymphocytes are formed and mature.
stem cells to divide and mature into B- and T- cells:
There are two primary lymphatic organs: the red bone marrow and the thymus gland.
Which of the following is not a component of the reticuloendothelial cell system?
a. Microglial cells
b. Kupffer cells
c. Langerhans cells
d. Neutrophils
e. Monocytes - CORRECT ANSWER Neutrophils
Macrophages = tissue
Monocytes = blood
Kupffer cells = liver
Microgial cells = nervous system
Langerhans = skin
Not = endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and most leukocytes
,Opsonization is a term to describe what?
a. Lysis of bacteria
b. Coating of bacteria
c. Ingestion of bacteria
d. Killing of bacteria
e. Phagocytosis - CORRECT ANSWER Coating of bacteria
Antibody opsonization is the process by which a pathogen is marked for ingestion and
eliminated by a phagocyte.
Which of the following does not describe a role of antibodies in host defense?
a. They serve as a bridge between bacteria and phagocytes
b. They lyse bacteria
c. They enhance complement binding to the bacterial cell wall
d. They prevent viruses from infecting cells
e. They bind pathogens in mucus secretions - CORRECT ANSWER They lyse bacteria
MHC Class I and II molecules differ in all of the following except
a. Types of T cells they stimulate
b. Types of cells they are expressed on
c. Which chromosome they are located on
d. Types of antigens they present
e. Whether or not they have foreign peptides in the antigen-binding groove - CORRECT
ANSWER Which chromosome they are located on
The primary role of the proteasome in antigen presentation is to
a. Prevent premature folding of MHC class I molecules
b. Process cytoplasmic proteins
,c. Degrade recycled MHC molecules
d. Bind HLA-DM in the endosome
e. Chaperone peptides to the cell surface - CORRECT ANSWER Process cytoplasmic
proteins
The main function of the proteasome is to degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by
proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds.
Peptides that bind to MHC class I molecules differ from peptides that bind to MHC class II
molecules in all
except which of the following ways?
a. They are shorter
b. They were processed by different proteases
c. They anchor in the middle instead of the end of the MHC molecule
d. They interact with different subsets of T cells - CORRECT ANSWER They anchor
in the middle instead of the end of the MHC molecule
HLA-DM is primarily involved in the
a. Activation of cytotoxic T cells
b. Loading antigen onto HLA-DR molecules
c. Preventing HLA-A molecules from folding prior to antigen binding
d. Rejection of islet grafts
e. Induction of diabetes mellitus - CORRECT ANSWER Loading antigen onto HLA-
DR molecules
The antigen-binding site of an antibody is comprised of which of the following?
a. The variable region of the light and heavy chains
b. The variable region of the light chain only
c. The entire light chain
d. The entire heavy chain
, e. The Fc portion of the immunoglobulin molecule - CORRECT ANSWER The
variable region of the light and heavy chains
The immunoglobulin that binds the most complement is
a. IgA
b. IgD
c. IgM
d. IgG2
e. IgE - CORRECT ANSWER IgM
The immunoglobulin responsible for activating mast cells in an allergic response is
a. IgA
b. IgD
c. IgM
d. IgG
e. IgE - CORRECT ANSWER IgE
The molecular interaction between an antibody and its corresponding antigen is mediated by
all except
which of the following?
a. Hydrogen bonds
b. Hydrophobic interactions
c. Covalent bonds
d. Electrostatic interactions
e. Van der Waals interactions. - CORRECT ANSWER Covalent bonds
The phenomenon of 'affinity maturation,' in which later antibodies bind to antigen with a
higher affinity than
the ones made weeks earlier, is due to
a. Allelic exclusion
Histocompatibility Specialist) UPDATED
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Which of the following is not a secondary lymphoid organ?
a. Spleen
b. Thymus
c. Lymph nodes
d. Liver
e. Tonsils - CORRECT ANSWER Thymus
Primary lymphatic organs are where lymphocytes are formed and mature.
stem cells to divide and mature into B- and T- cells:
There are two primary lymphatic organs: the red bone marrow and the thymus gland.
Which of the following is not a component of the reticuloendothelial cell system?
a. Microglial cells
b. Kupffer cells
c. Langerhans cells
d. Neutrophils
e. Monocytes - CORRECT ANSWER Neutrophils
Macrophages = tissue
Monocytes = blood
Kupffer cells = liver
Microgial cells = nervous system
Langerhans = skin
Not = endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and most leukocytes
,Opsonization is a term to describe what?
a. Lysis of bacteria
b. Coating of bacteria
c. Ingestion of bacteria
d. Killing of bacteria
e. Phagocytosis - CORRECT ANSWER Coating of bacteria
Antibody opsonization is the process by which a pathogen is marked for ingestion and
eliminated by a phagocyte.
Which of the following does not describe a role of antibodies in host defense?
a. They serve as a bridge between bacteria and phagocytes
b. They lyse bacteria
c. They enhance complement binding to the bacterial cell wall
d. They prevent viruses from infecting cells
e. They bind pathogens in mucus secretions - CORRECT ANSWER They lyse bacteria
MHC Class I and II molecules differ in all of the following except
a. Types of T cells they stimulate
b. Types of cells they are expressed on
c. Which chromosome they are located on
d. Types of antigens they present
e. Whether or not they have foreign peptides in the antigen-binding groove - CORRECT
ANSWER Which chromosome they are located on
The primary role of the proteasome in antigen presentation is to
a. Prevent premature folding of MHC class I molecules
b. Process cytoplasmic proteins
,c. Degrade recycled MHC molecules
d. Bind HLA-DM in the endosome
e. Chaperone peptides to the cell surface - CORRECT ANSWER Process cytoplasmic
proteins
The main function of the proteasome is to degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by
proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds.
Peptides that bind to MHC class I molecules differ from peptides that bind to MHC class II
molecules in all
except which of the following ways?
a. They are shorter
b. They were processed by different proteases
c. They anchor in the middle instead of the end of the MHC molecule
d. They interact with different subsets of T cells - CORRECT ANSWER They anchor
in the middle instead of the end of the MHC molecule
HLA-DM is primarily involved in the
a. Activation of cytotoxic T cells
b. Loading antigen onto HLA-DR molecules
c. Preventing HLA-A molecules from folding prior to antigen binding
d. Rejection of islet grafts
e. Induction of diabetes mellitus - CORRECT ANSWER Loading antigen onto HLA-
DR molecules
The antigen-binding site of an antibody is comprised of which of the following?
a. The variable region of the light and heavy chains
b. The variable region of the light chain only
c. The entire light chain
d. The entire heavy chain
, e. The Fc portion of the immunoglobulin molecule - CORRECT ANSWER The
variable region of the light and heavy chains
The immunoglobulin that binds the most complement is
a. IgA
b. IgD
c. IgM
d. IgG2
e. IgE - CORRECT ANSWER IgM
The immunoglobulin responsible for activating mast cells in an allergic response is
a. IgA
b. IgD
c. IgM
d. IgG
e. IgE - CORRECT ANSWER IgE
The molecular interaction between an antibody and its corresponding antigen is mediated by
all except
which of the following?
a. Hydrogen bonds
b. Hydrophobic interactions
c. Covalent bonds
d. Electrostatic interactions
e. Van der Waals interactions. - CORRECT ANSWER Covalent bonds
The phenomenon of 'affinity maturation,' in which later antibodies bind to antigen with a
higher affinity than
the ones made weeks earlier, is due to
a. Allelic exclusion
