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Antigenic variation may be classified into two types, antigenic drift that results from a change in few amino acids and antigenic shift which is the outcome of acquiring new structural proteins. A new vaccine is required every year because influenza virus has the ability to undergo antigenic drift.
IgM is first expressed as a monomer on the surface of immature B cells. Upon antigenic stimulation, IgM+ B cells secrete pentameric IgM antibody formed by five Ig monomers which are linked via disulfide bonds. The pentamer also contains a polypeptide J-chain, which links two of the monomers and facilitates secretion at mucosal surfaces.
Somatic hypermutation (or SHM) is a cellular mechanism by which the immune system adapts to the new foreign elements that confront it (e.g. microbes).A major component of the process of affinity maturation, SHM diversifies B cell receptors used to recognize foreign elements and allows the immune system to adapt its response to new threats during the lifetime of an organism. [1]
This process involves two distinct pathways for processing of antigens from an organism's own (self) proteins or intracellular pathogens (e.g. viruses), or from phagocytosed pathogens (e.g. bacteria); subsequent presentation of these antigens on class I or class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is dependent on which pathway ...
It is in this way, the MHC class I-dependent pathway of antigen presentation, that the virus infected cells signal T-cells that abnormal proteins are being produced as a result of infection. The fate of the virus-infected cell is almost always induction of apoptosis through cell-mediated immunity , reducing the risk of infecting neighboring cells.
Antigen processing and presentation in MHC-I pathway Cytotoxic T cells (also known as T c , killer T cell, or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL)) express CD8 co-receptors and are a population of T cells that are specialized for inducing programmed cell death of other cells.
The alternative pathway is a type of cascade reaction of the complement system and is a component of the innate immune system, a natural defense against infections. The alternative pathway is one of three complement pathways that opsonize and kill pathogens. The pathway is triggered when the C3b protein directly binds a microbe. It can also be ...
The classical pathway is distinct from the other complement pathways in its unique activation triggers and cascade sequence. Activation of the complement pathway through the classical, lectin or alternative complement pathway is followed by a cascade of reactions eventually leading to the membrane attack complex.