Antigen Presentation Quiz

The monoclonal antibody brodalumab was cleared for subcutaneous administration in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis in 2017.  It acts by binding the IL-17 receptor used by multiple IL-17 family cytokines.  Both the palliation of keratinocyte and vascular response changes as well as increased incidence of Candida infections in treated individuals are predicted by the most common side effect of therapy:

Propionibacterium acnes is an anaerobic gram-positive bacterium that produces lactic acid, propionic acid and acetic acid from glucose, as well as other proinflammatory mediators that diffuse through the pilosebaceous follicle wall.  The organism activates TLR-2 resulting in the production of IL-8, IL-12 and TNF.  The development of inflammatory acne in some individuals and not in others might then be explained by the activation of which of the following cascades?

A biopharmaceutical firm develops a product that blocks the function of IL-12 in tissue culture and laboratory animals.  As human trials begin, volunteers should be monitored for most increased susceptibility to which of the following?

Ipilimumab is an anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody being used in the therapy of metastatic melanoma.  CD4+ lymphocytes from a patient are cultured with MHC-matched antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the presence of ipilimumab.   An identical control culture is created without ipilimumab.   In which of the following ways would the culture treated with ipilimumab be different from the control culture?

A 72-year-old male with metastatic melanoma is enrolled in a biologic trial to block the expression of a tumor-specific molecule which contributes to “T cell exhaustion” and inhibition of anti-tumor activity.  Which of the following is the most likely tumor target molecule of this biologic?