Question

During the primary antibody response, a latent period occurs at the beginning of the response and it is marked by a lack of _____ to the activating antigen

A) Memory cells
B) Antibodies
C) T cells
D) Cytokines

Answer 1

The latent period in the primary antibody response is marked by a lack of detectable antibodies in the serum to the activating antigen.

Step-by-step explanation:

During the primary antibody response, there is a latent period at the beginning of the response. This period is characterized by the absence of detectable antibodies in the serum to the activating antigen. The latent period is approximately 10 days long and is the time required for a series of immunological events. These events include the binding of the antigen by naïve mature B cells, antigen processing and presentation, helper T cell activation, B cell activation, and the clonal proliferation of B cells. After this latent period, there is a rise in IgM antibody levels in the serum as B cells are stimulated by TH2 cells to differentiate into plasma cells. As a result, the correct answer to the student's question is B) Antibodies, indicating that during the latent period there is a lack of antibodies to the activating antigen.