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ONTOGENESIS OF B AND T LYMPHOCYTES
1. Where do B lymphocytes undergo the initial stages of maturation?
a) Thymus
b) Spleen
c) Bone marrow
d) Lymph nodes
2. Which of the following is the site for T-cell maturation?
a) Bone marrow
b) Spleen
c) Thymus
d) Liver
3. What critical process occurs in both B and T cells to generate a vast diversity
of antigen receptors?
a) Apoptosis
b) V(D)J recombination
c) Clonal expansion
d) Isotype switching
4. The earliest lymphocyte progenitors are known as:
a) Pro-B cells
b) Double-negative (DN) thymocytes
c) Hematopoietic stem cells
d) Common lymphoid progenitors
5. What is the defining feature of a pro-B cell?
a) Expression of a complete B-cell receptor (BCR)
b) Rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes
c) Expression of both IgM and IgD
d) Production of antibodies
6. Which crucial molecule is expressed by bone marrow stromal cells and is
essential for early B-cell development?
a) IL-2
b) CXCL12
c) RAG-1
d) CD4
7. T-cell progenitors are known as double-negative (DN) thymocytes in the
subcapsular region of the thymus because they lack which surface markers?
a) CD28 and CTLA-4
b) TCR and CD3
c) CD4 and CD8
d) MHC I and MHC II
8. What is the purpose of positive selection during T-cell development in the
thymus?
a) To eliminate T cells that react strongly with self-antigens
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b) To ensure that T cells can recognize self-MHC molecules
c) To promote the proliferation of all developing T cells
d) To select for T cells that recognize foreign antigens
9. What happens to a T-cell during negative selection if its TCR binds strongly to
a self-peptide presented on a self-MHC molecule?
a) It matures into a regulatory T cell.
b) It undergoes apoptosis (programmed cell death).
c) It is selected for further maturation.
d) It proliferates and differentiates into an effector cell.
10. B-cells that are found to be self-reactive during development in the bone
marrow may undergo which process to "fix" their receptor?
a) Somatic hypermutation
b) Receptor editing
c) Isotype switching
d) Clonal expansion
11. What is the enzyme complex responsible for the gene rearrangement in
V(D)J recombination?
a) Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)
b) RNA polymerase
c) DNA ligase
d) RAG-1 and RAG-2 recombinases
12. When a B-cell successfully rearranges its heavy chain genes and expresses the
pre-B-cell receptor, what happens next?
a) The cell undergoes apoptosis.
b) Rearrangement of the light chain genes begins.
c) The cell leaves the bone marrow.
d) It starts producing secreted antibodies.
13. Which of the following is the transcription factor that plays a crucial role in
B-cell commitment?
a) AIRE
b) Pax5
c) Runx3
d) T-bet
14. What is the function of the Autoimmune Regulator (AIRE) protein in the
thymus?
a) To promote T-cell proliferation
b) To delete self-reactive B cells
c) To present a wide array of self-antigens to developing T cells
d) To facilitate V(D)J recombination
15. What are T-cells called when they have successfully passed positive selection
in the thymic cortex and express both CD4 and CD8 markers?
a) Double-negative (DN) cells
b) Single-positive (SP) cells
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c) Double-positive (DP) cells
d) Regulatory T cells
16. Which surface molecule is characteristically expressed on mature, naive B-
cells, along with IgM?
a) IgA
b) IgD
c) IgG
d) IgE
17. What is the process of eliminating lymphocytes with receptors that react to
self-antigens?
a) Positive selection
b) Clonal expansion
c) Allelic exclusion
d) Negative selection
18. Which statement is TRUE about allelic exclusion in B-cell development?
a) It ensures that only one type of light chain is expressed.
b) It ensures that a B-cell expresses only one rearranged heavy chain allele.
c) It prevents the expression of IgD.
d) It allows for the expression of multiple B-cell receptors.
19. A successful gene rearrangement that produces a functional protein chain is
called:
a) A non-productive rearrangement
b) A productive rearrangement
c) Somatic hypermutation
d) Isotype switching
20. A defect in the RAG-1 or RAG-2 recombinase proteins would most severely
affect the development of:
a) Macrophages
b) Neutrophils
c) B and T cells
d) Natural Killer (NK) cells
21. Which cytokine is essential for the proliferation of both B- and T-cell
progenitors?
a) IL-4
b) IL-7
c) IL-12
d) IFN-γgamma
22. B-cells that do not pass the checkpoints during maturation in the bone
marrow and spleen primarily die by what process?
a) Necrosis
b) Phagocytosis
c) Apoptosis
d) Clonal anergy
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23. What is the surrogate light chain complex composed of?
a) Ig-alpha and Ig-beta
b) VpreB and $\lambda$5
c) MHC I and MHC II
d) RAG-1 and RAG-2
24. The commitment of a cell to the B-cell lineage is marked by the successful
arrangement of the heavy chain genes.
a) True
b) False
25. In the thymus, what is the fate of double-positive (DP) thymocytes that fail to
bind to self-MHC molecules?
a) They leave the thymus as single-positive cells.
b) They mature into regulatory T cells.
c) They undergo apoptosis.
d) They are rescued by positive selection.
26. The final maturation of an immature B-cell into a mature, naive B-cell is
completed in which location?
a) Bone marrow
b) Lymph nodes
c) Thymus
d) Spleen
27. What is the role of the B-cell coreceptor complex (CR2, CD19, CD81)?
a) It presents antigens to T-cells.
b) It helps in signal transduction upon antigen binding.
c) It triggers apoptosis of self-reactive cells.
d) It mediates isotype switching.
28. Which type of T-cell development is more common?
a) γδ gamma delta T-cell development
b) αβalpha beta T-cell development
29. The transcription factor Runx3 is associated with the differentiation of which
T-cell subset?
a) Helper T-cells
b) Cytotoxic T-cells
c) Regulatory T-cells
d) Memory T-cells
30. Which of the following is NOT involved in the mechanism of V(D)J
recombination?
a) Recombination Signal Sequences (RSSs)
b) RAG-1 and RAG-2
c) Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)
d) Somatic hypermutation
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31. The terminally differentiated B-cells that produce large quantities of
antibodies are known as:
a) Memory B-cells
b) Plasma cells
c) Regulatory B-cells
d) Naive B-cells
32. Which of the following describes the state of T-cell progenitors entering the
thymus from the bone marrow?
a) They already express a rearranged TCR.
b) They are double-positive (CD4+CD8+).
c) They are double-negative (CD4-CD8-).
d) They are terminally differentiated.
33. The final maturation of T-cells that have successfully undergone positive and
negative selection results in which types of cells?
a) Double-negative T-cells
b) Double-positive T-cells
c) Single-positive T-cells (CD4+ or CD8+)
d) Regulatory T-cells only
34. The process of affinity maturation, which improves the binding of antibodies
to antigens, is driven by:
a) V(D)J recombination
b) Somatic hypermutation
c) Clonal anergy
d) Allelic exclusion
35. T-cell lineage commitment is mediated by signals from the:
a) B-cell receptor (BCR)
b) Cytokines
c) T-cell receptor (TCR)
d) Antigen-presenting cells (APCs)
36. Anergy, or a state of unresponsiveness, is one fate for B-cells that recognize
self-antigens in the bone marrow. What is another possible fate?
a) Proliferation
b) Receptor editing
c) Clonal expansion
d) Isotype switching
37. Which statement about isotype switching is FALSE?
a) It occurs after antigenic stimulation.
b) It changes the heavy chain constant region.
c) It requires T-cell help.
d) It changes the antigen-binding specificity of the antibody.
38. What is the role of thymic cortical epithelial cells (cTECs) during T-cell
development?
a) They present MHC class I and II to developing thymocytes for positive selection.
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b) They produce antibodies.
c) They eliminate double-negative thymocytes.
d) They present self-antigens for negative selection.
39. Which molecule is involved in the signal transduction complex of the B-cell
receptor (BCR)?
a) CD4
b) Ig- αalpha/Ig-βbeta
c) TCR
d) MHC II
39. What is the correct chronological order of stages in T-cell development?
a) Double-positive →Single-positive →Double-negative
b) Single-positive →Double-negative →Double-positive
c) Double-negative →Double-positive →Single-positive
d) Double-negative →Single-positive →Double-positive
40. Which of the following is a characteristic of memory B-cells?
a) They are short-lived.
b) They produce only IgM antibodies.
c) They reside mainly in the thymus.
d) They enable a faster and stronger secondary immune response.
41. Which marker identifies hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)?
a) CD4+
b) CD8+
c) CD34+
d) CD19+
42. The expression of the protein ThPOK is critical for the differentiation of
which T-cell subset?
a) CD8+ T-cells
b) CD4+ T-cells
c) Regulatory T-cells
d) γδgamma delta T-cells
43. What is the primary difference in receptor rearrangement between B-cells
and T-cells?
a) B-cells rearrange in the thymus, T-cells in the bone marrow.
b) B-cells rearrange V-D-J for both heavy and light chains; T-cells only V-J.
c) Both perform V(D)J recombination, but T-cell rearrangement occurs in the thymus,
and B-cell rearrangement occurs in the bone marrow.
d) T-cells undergo isotype switching, while B-cells do not.
45. Which of the following is involved in the negative selection of T-cells in the
thymic medulla?
a) Cortical epithelial cells
b) Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) and dendritic cells
c) B-cells
d) Macrophages only
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46. The majority of B-cell development is completed in the bone marrow, but
some aspects of maturation occur in the:
a) Thymus
b) Spleen
c) Liver
d) Appendix
47. A T-cell that recognizes an antigen on an MHC molecule but fails to receive a
costimulatory signal may become:
a) Activated
b) Anergic (non-responsive)
c) Apoptotic
d) A memory cell
48. What is the first type of immunoglobulin (Ig) expressed on the surface of an
immature B-cell?
a) IgD
b) IgM
c) IgA
d) IgG
49. The T-cell receptor (TCR) is composed of:
a) Heavy and light chains
b) Two α alpha and two β beta chains
c) An α alpha and a Βbeta chain
d) A variable and a constant region
50. What is the process that ensures that only one productive rearrangement of a
heavy chain gene occurs per B-cell?
a) Isotype switching
b) Somatic hypermutation
c) Allelic exclusion
d) Receptor editing
