Average Exam is 79.5% (low B to B-) Principles of Cell Biology Exam 1
March 3, 2009
Directions: There are 75 questions in this exam with only one correct answer for each. All answers are to be placed on the grid sheet. Make sure that you mark the version of your exam for question #76. The version is listed at the end of this exam. 1. Transmission electron microscopy does not require which of the following in any of its
applications? a. Fluorochromes b. Lead and uranium c. Epoxy plastic d. Glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide e. Ultramicrotome 2. Which of the following techniques requires that proteins be denatured? a. DEAE ion exchange chromatography b. SDS gel electrophoresis c. CM ion exchange chromatography d. Gel filtration e. Native gel electrophoresis
3. In terms of function, which is most closely associated with the flow cytometer?
a. b. c. d. e. Guava ELISA MALDI-TOF cDNA microarrays Southern blots
4. The term in vitro as used in class means in a. Cell culture b. A microscope c. A MALDI-TOF
d. An ion exchange column e. A living animal 5. Which of the following techniques separates DNA fragments on a gel? a. Southern blots b. Western blots c. Northern blots d. SDS gels e. Gel filtration
6. Which of the following analysis systems relies on differential speeds through a
gravitational field to achieve the end result? a. Dynabeads b. Flow cytometer c. Guava d. Velocity sedimentation
e. DEAE ion exchange chromatography
7. As described in class, which of the following below used insulin to purify the insulin
receptor? a. Gel filtration b. Ion exchange chromatography c. Affinity chromatography d. 2-D gel electrophoresis e. SDS gel electrophoresis
8. A densitometer is not used in conjunction with which of the following techniques? a. Southern blots b. Northern blots
c. Western blots d. DNA gel electrophoresis e. cDNA microarrays
9. Pathologists performing forensic tissue sample tests typically fix tissue, embed it in
paraffin and then stain it appropriately. Which microscope do they use in this regard? a. Phase microscope b. Nomarski optics c. Atomic force microscope d. Bright field microscope e. Polarizing light microscope 10. Which of the following techniques amplifies the original material? a. Southern blots b. Polymerase chain reaction c. cDNA microarrays d. MALDI-TOF e. Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography
11. Which of the following is typically not associated in any manner with cell culture?
a. b. c. d. e. a. b. c. d. e. Cell therapy Tissue engineering Production of monoclonal antibodies in the bioprocessing industry In vitro toxicology None of the above because they all involve cell culture in some form Western blots Southern blots MALDI-TOF Isoelectric focusing 2-D gel electrophoresis
12. Which of the following techniques requires the use of antibodies to identify proteins?
13. Scanning tunneling microscopy was the first microscope to image the major and minor
grooves in a. DNA b. Proteins c. Phospholipids d. mRNA e. Carbohydrates
14. Fluorescence immunocytochemistry does not use which of the following as part of the
process? a. Hematoxylin and eosin b. Fluorochromes c. Antibodies d. The indirect technique e. Confocal microscope 15. Ficoll is a critical ingredient used in a. cDNA microarrays b. Southern blots c. Density gradient centrifugation d. Gel filtration e. DEAE ion exchange chromatography 16. MDCK cells express microvilli when they are grown on a. Standard cell culture dishes b. Standard cell culture dishes coated with collagen c. Microporous membranes d. Dynabeads e. Speedbeads 17. Trituration is an integral part of what type of cellular technique? a. Cell fractionation b. Gene transfection c. Cell separation d. Cloning e. cDNA microarray analysis 18. EMS or ethylmethane sulfonate is often used to a. Separate proteins during gel filtration b. Permanently alter the genome so that stable mutants can be made c. Coat biological scaffolds d. Fix human tissue prior to the plastic thin sectioning method e. Prepare cell membranes for examination in the atomic force microscope
19. Darkfield microscopy causes which of the following structures to be bright in a dark background? a. Mitochondria/lysosomes b. Nuclei c. Ribosomes d. Protein molecules e. Viruses
20. Which of the following uses 3H-leucine as a means to track protein synthesis and
movement of newly synthesized proteins through cells? a. ELISA b. FRET c. Autoradiography d. In situ hybridization e. None of the above
21. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a cell line?
a. b. c. d. Telomeres stay the same length for each cell division Often arise from tumors Can originate from embryonic cells Can be generated from cell strains through the transfection of oncogenes or excessive exposure to UV light e. Commits apoptosis after approximately 25 to 50 doublings.
22. AT32P or 32PO4 can be used to analyze phosphorylated proteins that are separated on gels.
What type of enzyme would one be indirectly investigating in this manner if these tracers are used? a. Phospholipases b. Proteases c. Nucleases d. Glycosylases e. Kinases 23. Temperature sensitive mutants are useful in the laboratory for studying a variety of genetic events including cell division. What cell type is most often used when generating temperature sensitive mutants? a. Hepatocytes b. Paramecia c. Human keratinocytes d. Yeast e. Prostate cancer cells 24. Which of the following agents are regarded as neurotoxins? a. TTX (tetrodotoxin) b. Soman/Sarin c. Botulinum toxin d. All of the above e. None of the above
25. Nuclear pores and exocytotic vesicles can be seen using an atomic force microscope. What determines the resolution capabilities in this type of scanning proximity microscope? a. Size of the tip used to scan the specimen b. The voltage of the electromagnetic lenses c. The optics of the glass lenses d. The wavelength of light used to illuminate the specimen e. The type of stains used to highlight the structures of interest
26. There are a number of companies that are attempting to generate a recombinant form of
human serum albumin from organisms ranging from yeast to rice. Why is human serum albumin so important in cell biology? a. It supports the growth of human embryonic stem cells but not other cell types b. It is required for growth of many human cell types such as cell strains used for cell therapy c. It coats DEAE beads so that proteins can be separated more effectively d. It is used in SDS gel electrophoresis so that proteins do not stick to each other e. Human serum albumin is not important in cell biology
27. The MALDI-TOF is an exceptionally high resolution instrument and, as such, can detect
as little as one amino acid difference between two proteins. How does it accomplish this feat? a. The migration pattern on a gel gives this system its high resolution b. The differences in the matrix chemistry on the spots gives this system the high resolution c. The time of flight of the individual proteins from the spot to the detector gives this system the high resolution d. The number of antibodies bound to the proteins in question gives it this high resolution e. All of the above 28. The virtue of phase microscopy is that living cells can be viewed a. When they are in cell culture b. Without fixing them c. Without the use of stains d. By relying on how the light moves through the specimen as a means to generate contrast via differences in refractive indices e. All of the above
29. Stem cells are typically not found in
a. b. c. d. e. Amniotic fluid Urine Umbilical cord blood Bone marrow Fetal tissue
30. BioHeart is best known for its pioneering work in cell therapy for improving the function
of which organ? a. Pancreas b. Skin c. Liver d. Heart e. Retina of the eye
31. Robert Langer of MIT has done some pioneering work on biological scaffolds. As such,
his research focus can best be described as a. Human embryonic stem cells b. Tissue engineering c. Monoclonal antibody production d. Cellular cardiomyoplasty e. Pancreatic islets transplant
32. ELISA can be used for
a. Transfecting cells b. Fixing cells for transmission electron microscopy c. Imaging cells that have been injected with FLUO-3 d. Measuring the amount of protein synthesized by cells e. Identifying areas in the genome that contain SNPs 33. Resveratrol a. Is found in red wine b. Stimulates the sir2 genes c. May promote longevity by direct gene activation d. Has been shown to enhance the cancer cell killing power of freezing e. All of the above 34. Gene Network Sciences in Ithaca, NY is translating cellular metabolic pathways to a wiring diagram. Why might this be useful in the future? a. It would make drug testing much more efficient, easier and cheaper given that real living cells might not have to be used b. It may give rise to a new way to propagate human embryonic stem cells without the use of human serum albumin c. It will be crucial for the development of new engineered tissues d. It will help predict if stem cells can be used for cell therapy to treat diabetes e. It will make the use of most molecular genetics research protocols obsolete 35. GFP a. Is a reporter molecule b. Was originally discovered in jelly fish c. Fluoresces green d. Was sequenced such that as a result now other fluorescent proteins with different excitation and emission spectra characteristics are available. e. All of the above
36. FRET as presented in class requires which of the following? a. Protein binding within a 10 nm range b. Blue fluorescent protein c. Green fluorescent protein d. Fluorescence microscopy or confocal microscopy to visualize e. All of the above
37. Which cell type listed below, commonly used by drug companies for performing in vitro
toxicology assessments of new candidate drugs and their abilities to be processed by cytochrome p450, is notorious for losing its function while still maintaining its viability? a. Human fibroblasts b. Human skin cells c. Human corneal epithelial d. cells Human hepatocytes e. Human myoblasts
38. Gold particles are used in at least two different cell and molecular biology research
applications discussed in class. What are they? a. ELISA/FRET b. FRAP/FRET c. Intracellular injection/ultrastructural immunocytochemistry d. Freeze fracture/ultrastructural autoradiography e. Scanning electron microscope/Nomarski optics 39. Stem cells are often regarded as totipotent a term that means which of the following? a. Stem cells can form any type of cell if differentiated in an appropriate manner b. Stem cells can originate from many different sources c. Stem cells can be fused with other somatic cells to make heterokaryons d. Stem cells can divide forever and thus, as such, are regarded as immortal e. Stem cells are present in mammals but not cold blooded vertebrates 40. Craig Venter is most commonly associated with a. Two photon microscopy b. MALDI-TOF c. Cell separation d. Genome sequencing e. Microspectrofluorometry 41. Cryosections are commonly used when performing Mohs surgery. What type of ailment does Mohs surgery address? a. Heart disease b. Lung cancer c. Diabetes d. Skin cancer e. Alzheimers disease
42. Which of the following microscopes would you chose if you were doing single cell electrophysiology or intracellular injection of single living cells? a. Transmission electron microscope b. Nomarski optics (Differential interference contrast) c. Bright field microscopy d. Scanning electron microscopy e. Laser-capture microdissection
43. Cells that succumb by apoptosis and necrosis can be distinguished from each other by
using a. b. c. d. e. Gel filtration SELDI-TOF DNA gel electrophoresis CM ion exchange chromatography None of the above
44. Confocal microscopy does not use which of the following?
a. Lasers b. Confocal pinholes c. Mechanism by which the cells to be viewed can be moved incrementally, spot by spot d. Computer to sum the total image and display it e. Electrons as the illuminating source 45. Fluorescence assays are commonly used to measure the activity of the enzyme group referred to as caspases. If you were using this type of assay, what type of cellular phenomenon would you be examining? a. Cancer b. Cell death c. Cell differentiation d. Cell division e. Cell movement
46. Restriction nucleases were the catalysts that launched the molecular biology revolution
given that these enzymes could do which of the following? a. They cleave DNA and RNA molecules b. They split a dimeric protein into its constituent monomeric components c. They were critical in the generation of temperature sensitive mutants d. They hydrolyze intracellular but not extracellular proteins e. None of the above 47. The term rapid prototyping is a unique idea on how to better develop engineered tissues. What device does it use? a. Degradable biological scaffold b. Collagen gel c. Modified ink jet printer d. DEAE columns e. Western blots
48. Vital fluorescent probes are often used to monitor changes in some aspect of cell
physiology. What does JC-1 monitor in this regard? a. Ability of lysosomes to engulf bacteria b. Level of protein synthesis c. Plasma membrane integrity d. Cell division e. None of the above 49. Xenotransplantation is currently not practiced because a. It always involves human embryonic stem cells b. It involves artificially grown organs c. It is the only transplantation procedure that causes an immune rejection d. It involves animal organs or cells implanted into humans e. None of the above
50. Which of the following intracellular injection techniques or devices is typically used for
cloning (somatic nuclear transfer)? a. Electroporation b. Liposomes c. Gold particles d. Micropipets e. All of the above are equally as useful 51. ELAD is an engineered a. Heart b. Liver c. Kidney d. Bladder e. Skin
52. FRAP can measure what aspect relevant to a transmembrane protein?
a. b. c. d. e. Amino acid sequence Whether it can bind to another protein or drug Whether it binds to an antibody Whether it can diffuse laterally within the plane of the plasma membrane None of the above
53. RNAi is characterized by the fact that a. Its discovery was important enough to merit a Nobel Prize for the scientists who discovered it b. It blocks translation c. It can be either shRNA or siRNA which differ in function d. It is now being considered as the foundation to treat a variety of diseases e. All of the above 54. Ricin a. b. c. d. Comes from the castor bean May be used in the future to treat cancer Is a toxic protein Binds to ribosomes
e. All of the above 55. RNAi is currently being used to treat macula degeneration of the eye. In this case the RNAi blocks the expression of a protein (VEGF) that a. Causes the rods to overpopulate b. Causes the cones to overpopulate c. Stimulates the overproduction of blood vessels. d. Stimulates the overproduction of rhodopsin e. It is not known how VEGF works 56. The engineered human skin, EpiDerm, was originally developed here on campus and is now marketed worldwide by MatTek Corporation in Ashland Mass. What is its target market? a. Treating burns b. Treating diabetic ulcers c. Treating psoriasis d. Product safety testing e. Basic research
57. Which of the following relies on particles that contain iron cores with surfaces coated
with a molecule that can bind to specific target molecules on the surface of cells? a. Dynabeads b. Flow cytometer c. Guava d. Velocity sedimentation e. DEAE ion exchange chromatography 58. Suppressor, synthetic lethality 1 and synthetic lethality 2 are all types of a. Cancer cells b. Mutations c. Monoclonal antibodies d. Extracellular proteins e. Interference RNAs 59. Laser capture microdissection microscopy can remove one or more cells for a subsequent analysis. What requirement does the subsequent analysis usually require? a. Amplification of a target structure in the cell(s) such as DNA b. Fixation of the proteins c. Transfection of a gene of interest into the cell d. Cell separation using enzymes such as trypsin e. The techniques associated with the subsequent analysis have not yet been developed
60. 3H20 was mentioned in conjunction with the development of the tissue engineered skin,
EpiDerm. What was this radioactive probe used for? a. It measured the skin barrier efficacy b. It was used in autoradiography to identify dividing cells c. It was the key element that triggered the differentiation of the skin d. It was used to coat the apical (top) surface of the skin so that it was more protected
e. None of the above
61. The complementary nature of nucleotide sequences plays an important role in which of
the following techniques or microscopes? a. Ultrastructural immunocytochemistry b. Electron tomography c. Ultrastructural autoradiography d. Scanning tunneling microscopy e. In situ hybridization 62. SNPs refer to slight variations in a. DNA sequences b. Proteins c. Carbohydrates d. Phospholipids e. Mitochondria structure 63. Freeze-fracture is a technique designed to examine the interior of a. Lysosomes b. Cell membranes c. Mitochondria d. Nuclei e. Ribosomes
64. Differential centrifugation is primarily used for separating different types of a. Carbohydrates b. Proteins
c. mRNA species d. Organelles e. None of the above
65. Which of the following cell separation procedures relies on the use of fluorochromes? a. Dynabeads b. Flow cytometer
c. Panning d. Velocity sedimentation e. DEAE ion exchange chromatography 66. Monoclonal antibodies have advantages over polyclonal antibodies in that the former a. Are immortal b. Can have higher specificity for the antigen c. Can have higher affinity for the antigen d. All of the above e. None of the above
67. Which protein separation system uses charged beads? a. Gel filtration b. Ion exchange chromatography c. Affinity chromatography
d. 2-D gel electrophoresis e. SDS gel electrophoresis
68. EGTA and EDTA are commonly used to separate cells. How do these agents work? a. They bind calcium that is required for cell adhesion molecules to function b. They cleave caspases which, in turn, release cells from each other c. They activate intracellular esterases that, in turn, release cells from each other d. They cause cells to shrink so that they retract from each other e. It is not yet known how these agents work 69. A technique designed to determine if different recessive mutations are in the same gene is called a. Complementation analysis b. TTX analysis c. Coordinate synthesis analysis d. Suppressor analysis e. The DMB analysis 70. Anthrax is an exceptionally good bioterrorism agent given that a. It is typically in liquid form b. The spores are fully potent and can withstand excessive dehydration and UV light exposure c. It is activated by ricin d. It kills cells by directly inhibiting protein synthesis e. It is isolated from the roundworm, C.elegans 71. If you were using the Sanger method, you would be a. Using a recent technique that more efficiently transfers a somatic nucleus into a recipient egg cell b. Using a variety of proteases to dissociate human tissue into single cells c. Analyzing gene expression using cDNA microarrays d. Analyzing proteins using Western blots e. None of the above 72. Vmax and Km are critical characteristics to appreciate if one is studying a. DNA b. RNA c. Enzymes d. Carbohydrates e. Phospholipids 73. Ampicillin resistance and recombinant plasmids are often used in a. DNA cloning b. Tissue engineering scaffolds c. Affinity chromatography d. Designing new cell culture media e. None of the above
74. The word deconvolution is used in your textbook in reference to what type of technique? a. Microscopy b. Protein purification c. Cell cloning d. Molecular genetics e. Tissue engineering 75. Mass spectrometry is a very sensitive and highly precise method of detecting, identifying and characterizing a. DNA b. RNA c. Proteins d. Carbohydrates e. Phospholipids
You have Version C. Please mark C for question #76.