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Although epitopes are usually non-self proteins, sequences derived from the host that can be recognized (as in the case of autoimmune diseases) are also epitopes. [ 1 ] The epitopes of protein antigens are divided into two categories, conformational epitopes and linear epitopes , based on their structure and interaction with the paratope. [ 2 ]
Note that conformational epitopes can include some linear segments. B-cell epitope mapping studies suggest that most interactions between antigens and antibodies, particularly autoantibodies and protective antibodies (e.g., in vaccines), rely on binding to discontinuous epitopes. [citation needed]
However, many naturally occurring apparent antigens are actually a mixture of macromolecules (for example, from pathogens, toxins, proteins, or pollen) comprising several epitopes. Contact with a complex antigen such as a virus will stimulate multiple immune responses to the virus' different macromolecules as well as the individual epitopes of ...
Such discontinuous amino acids that come together in three-dimensional conformation and interact with the receptor's paratope are called conformational epitopes. In contrast, if the antigen is digested, small segments called peptides are formed, which bind with major histocompatibility complex molecules, and then later with T cell receptors ...
The pentameric structure of IgM antibodies makes them efficient at binding antigens with repetitive epitopes (e.g. bacterial capsule, viral capsid) and activation of complement cascade. As IgM antibodies are expressed early in a B cell response, they are rarely highly mutated and have broad antigen reactivity thus providing an early response to ...
Recognition of epitopes in a linear fashion. Note: the same (colored) segment of protein can be a part of more than one epitopes. In immunology, a linear epitope (also sequential epitope) is an epitope—a binding site on an antigen—that is recognized by antibodies by its linear sequence of amino acids (i.e. primary structure).
[note 7] [20] This is known as antigen presentation. However, the epitopes (conformational epitopes) that are recognized by the B cell prior to their digestion may not be the same as that presented to the T helper cell. Additionally, a B cell may present different peptides complexed to different MHC-II molecules. [16]
Epitopes, also referred to as antigenic determinants, are parts of an antigen that are recognized by the immune system. A neoepitope is an epitope the immune system has not encountered before. Therefore it is not subject to tolerance mechanisms of the immune system. [4]