PARA 438 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Antigen, Antibody, B Cell
23 Dec 2015
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Discuss the clonal generation of diversity, and describe how this diversity is achieved. The diversity (i. e. , the repertoire, in the form of antigen- specific t and b lymphocytes) is generated in the central. This happens naturally, before infection; mature lymphocytes are already specific for a given ag because their specificity develops while they are maturing. The go signal is the selection process (this is what turns them on and makes them ready to function: the ag-specific clone of lymphocytes selected existed before. Ag exposure: all members of the clone share the same specific cell surface receptor for ag (ig or tcr, prior to antigen exposure, the genome that codes for antibodies is set up in several little segments. Each of these little constant regions can be rearranged in the central lymphoid system while maturity is occurring. For eg, it will select one b region, one d region, one j region, one constant region, etc.
