Immunology

63 written of 63 topics · 21 entries (derived from exam corpus)

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Concepts

Tier 1frequently tested
Complement
Complement activation pathways and functions (classical, alternative, lectin; opsonins vs anaphylatoxins)9Complement deficiencies and associated infection risk (classical, alternative, terminal, MBL)6Complement-dependent cytotoxicity and the membrane attack complex2
Primary immunodeficiency
IL-12/IFN-gamma axis defects and susceptibility to mycobacterial infection1🔒 Innate immune receptor defects (TLR/IRAK4/MyD88 pathway deficiencies)🔒 Leukocyte adhesion deficiency - mechanism (defective integrins, impaired extravasation)3🔒 NF-kB pathway defects (NEMO) and immunodeficiency1🔒 Primary immunodeficiency syndromes - key syndromes and defects (XLA, CVID, DiGeorge, CGD)15🔒 Screening tests for primary immunodeficiency5🔒 Secondary immunodeficiency from chronic corticosteroid use - typical infections1🔒 T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and SCID screening3
Transplant immunology
🔒 CMV risk stratification in solid organ transplant (donor/recipient serostatus)🔒 Graft-versus-host disease - effector cells and mechanism3🔒 HLA sensitisation - relative risk by exposure type (transplant, pregnancy, transfusion)🔒 Transplant rejection types - histological/immunological features (hyperacute, acute cellular, acute antibody-mediated, chronic)19
Autoimmunity and paraproteins
🔒 Amyloidosis - types and typical organ involvement (AA, AL, ATTR)7🔒 Cryoglobulinaemia - types and complement associations🔒 IgG4-related disease
Antigen presentation
🔒 MHC/HLA function in antigen presentation18
Hypersensitivity
🔒 Drug hypersensitivity reactions - mechanisms (SJS/TEN)7🔒 Gell and Coombs hypersensitivity classification (types I-IV)6🔒 Hereditary angioedema - diagnostic testing (C4, C1-inhibitor)1🔒 Mast cell mediators and diagnostic testing in anaphylaxis (tryptase, histamine)4🔒 Risk factors for severe/fatal anaphylaxis2🔒 Skin barrier dysfunction in atopic dermatitis (filaggrin)
Autoimmunity
🔒 Antiphospholipid syndrome - renal pathology (thrombotic microangiopathy)1🔒 Autoantibody-disease associations🔒 Autoantigens in type 1 diabetes (insulin, GAD65, IA-2)1🔒 Autoimmune disease-associated malignancy risk (Hashimoto's-thyroid lymphoma, Sjogren's-MALT lymphoma, coeliac-EATL)1🔒 Causes of false-positive serological testing (cross-reactivity, IVIG, pregnancy)1🔒 Coeliac disease immunology (T-cell mediated, HLA-DQ2/8, IgA deficiency association)🔒 HLA-disease associations (autoimmune and inflammatory conditions)1🔒 Rheumatoid factor - target antigen and mechanism3🔒 Risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis development1
Granulomatous disease
🔒 ACE production by granulomas in sarcoidosis1🔒 Granuloma formation - cell types and mechanism1
Cytokines
🔒 Interleukin functions (haematopoiesis, inflammation, immune regulation)7
Autoinflammatory disease
🔒 Autoinflammatory syndromes and the inflammasome (FMF, gout, Blau, Schnitzler, CAPS)8🔒 Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) - pathophysiology2
Transfusion immunology
🔒 Blood product irradiation - purpose (TA-GVHD prevention)🔒 Transfusion reactions - types, mechanisms, and relative frequency
Antibody structure and function
🔒 Antibody affinity vs avidity - definitions (IgM vs IgG)🔒 B-cell affinity maturation - somatic hypermutation and class switching3🔒 Immunoglobulin classes - complement activation, function, structure8
Innate immunity
🔒 pattern recognition receptors and complement activation (CRP, TLRs, PAMPs)5
Immune cell identification
🔒 Immune cell surface marker identification (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD20, CD56)4
Tier 2tested occasionally
Immune cell function by defect type
🔒 Asplenia and encapsulated organism susceptibility4🔒 Infection patterns by immunodeficiency type (T-cell/B-cell/complement/neutrophil)4
Alloimmunity
🔒 Factor VIII inhibitor development risk by product type1
Allergy and hypersensitivity testing
🔒 Allergen immunotherapy - indications and mechanism6
Cell-mediated immunity
🔒 Cell-mediated immunity against intracellular pathogens (T cells, macrophages, NK cells)4🔒 Central and peripheral T-cell tolerance mechanisms (negative selection, anergy, Treg)2🔒 NK cell and cytotoxic T cell killing mechanisms (perforin/granzyme, Fas-FasL)5🔒 T-cell activation - signal 1/2/3 model (TCR-MHC, costimulation, cytokines)8🔒 T-helper subset pathways in autoimmune disease (Th1, Th2, Th17)4
Vaccination immunology
🔒 Conjugate vs polysaccharide vaccine immunology (T-dependent vs T-independent response)4🔒 Immunosenescence - mechanism of reduced vaccine response in elderly🔒 Live vaccine contraindications (pregnancy, immunosuppression, HIV CD4 threshold)2🔒 mRNA vaccine components and allergy contraindications (polyethylene glycol)1
Reproductive immunology
🔒 Immunological adaptations of pregnancy (Th2 shift, hormone changes)
Molecular mimicry and post-infectious autoimmunity
🔒 Diagnostic criteria for acute rheumatic fever (Jones criteria - major/minor)🔒 Molecular mimicry in autoimmune disease (rheumatic fever, Guillain-Barré)1🔒 Multiple sclerosis pathogenesis (T cells, B cells, cytokines)