Explain how the dendritic cells (DCs) used in the anti-tumor vaccine were generated

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Biology 435 Fall 2011 Take-home Assignment 3 11/21/11 Read the assigned article, ” Pilot Clinical Trial of Type 1 Dendritic Cells Loaded with Autologous Tumor Lysates Combined with GM-CSF, Pegylated IFN, and Cyclophosphamide for Metastatic Cancer” and the supplemental material available from the class iLEARN site, then answer the questions below. You may find the following section of your textbook helpful for understanding some methods mentioned in the paper: ELISPOT Assay Section A-26 p. 745 Your answers should be direct (don’t restate the question in your answer), succinct (a couple of sentences to a short paragraph per answer is sufficient), yet complete and in your own words. Some questions may require consulting other sources (i.e. not the article itself) for information. If you use any source of information outside of the article itself, cite that source in your answer. Provide your answers in typed form on a separate sheet of paper (write only your SFSU ID #, not your name on all pages turned in. Due at the beginning of class on 12/5/11. An answer key will be posted on iLEARN following class. 1. Explain how the dendritic cells (DCs) used in the anti-tumor vaccine were generated. Include in your answer, the source of the cells, each step used to generate the DCs and the purpose of each step. (4 pts.) 2a. Why was cyclophosphamide used in this investigation? (2 pts.) 2b. How would this cyclophosphamide-mediated outcome aid in eliminating tumors (2 pts.) 3. Figure 5B shows data on NK cell-mediated cell killing. How can the authors conclude that NK cells are doing the cell killing? (3 pts.) 4a. What are PBMCs and what cell types are included in this population? (3 pts.) 4b. Figure 5E shows data quantifying the number of IFN-?-secreting cells in PBMCs taken from cancer patients before and after immunotherapy. What cell type is most likely secreting the IFN-?? Explain what is occurring in the assay that is triggering IFN-?