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The technology can uniquely identify a person by analyzing the antibodies in body fluids. A unique, individual set of antibodies, called individual specific autoantibodies (ISA), is found in blood, serum, saliva, urine, semen, perspiration, tears, and body tissues, and the antibodies are not affected by illness, medication, or food/drug intake.
Each lineage of B cell expresses a different antibody, so the complete set of B cell antigen receptors represent all the antibodies that the body can manufacture. [57] When B or T cells encounter their related antigens they multiply and many "clones" of the cells are produced that target the same antigen. This is called clonal selection. [61]
In the later 19th century, it was believed that the immune system was unable to react against the body's own tissues. Paul Ehrlich, at the turn of the 20th century, proposed the concept of horror autotoxicus. Ehrlich later adjusted his theory to recognize the possibility of autoimmune tissue attacks, but believed certain innate protection ...
Antibodies serve an important role in the immune system by detecting cells and substances that the rest of the immune system then eliminates. These cells and substances can be foreign (for example, viruses) and also can be produced by the body (for example, cancer cells). Antibodies against the body's own products are called autoantibodies.
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 the aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules – including secreted antibodies, complement proteins, and certain antimicrobial peptides – located in extracellular fluids. Humoral immunity is named so because it involves substances found in the humors, or body fluids. It contrasts with cell-mediated immunity.
The antibodies will attack the self-antigens and the tissues harboring them by activating various mechanisms like the complement activation and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Hence, wider the range of antibody-specificities, greater the chance that one or the other will react against self-antigens (native molecules of the body).
In alloimmunity, the body creates antibodies (called alloantibodies) against the alloantigens, attacking transfused blood, allotransplanted tissue, and even the fetus in some cases. Alloimmune (isoimmune) response results in graft rejection, which is manifested as deterioration or complete loss of graft function.