Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Each antibody binds to a specific antigen in a highly specific interaction analogous to a lock and key.. An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that cause disease.
Humoral immunity is also referred to as antibody-mediated immunity. The study of the molecular and cellular components that form the immune system , including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology .
The immunologically active gamma globulins are also called "immunoglobulins" or "antibodies". As stated, globulins have different sizes, but the sex hormone-binding globulin has a molecular weight of 90 kDa. In certain subjects the sizes of the sex hormone differed from each other; some globulins had the size of 49 kDa, 52 kDa, and 56 kDa.
The associated anti-A and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM antibodies, produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food, bacteria, and viruses. The ABO blood types were discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1901; he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930 for this discovery. [ 5 ]
A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biological processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms . Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers .
In immunology the particular macromolecule bound by an antibody is referred to as an antigen and the area on an antigen to which the antibody binds is called an epitope. In some cases, an immunoassay may use an antigen to detect for the presence of antibodies, which recognize that antigen, in a solution.
The resulting antibodies are designated IgW (also called IgX or IgNARC) and IgNAR (immunoglobulin new antigen receptor). [13] [14] The latter type is a heavy-chain antibody, an antibody lacking light chains, and can be used to produce single-domain antibodies, which are essentially the variable domain (V NAR) of an IgNAR.
In molecular biology, an intrabody (from intracellular and antibody) is an antibody that works within the cell to bind to an intracellular protein. [1] Due to the lack of a reliable mechanism for bringing antibodies into a living cell from the extracellular environment, this typically requires the expression of the antibody within the target cell, which can be accomplished in transgenic ...