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The markers on the pathogen that the antibodies target are called antigens. [48] Traditional vaccines stimulate an antibody response by injecting either antigens, an attenuated (weakened) virus, an inactivated (dead) virus, or a recombinant antigen-encoding viral vector (harmless carrier virus with an antigen transgene) into the body. These ...
Lymphocytes retain a "memory" of virus infections and produce many special molecules called antibodies. These antibodies attach to viruses and stop the virus from infecting cells. Antibodies are highly selective and attack only one type of virus. The body makes many different antibodies, especially during the initial infection.
Live, attenuated vaccines, such as smallpox and polio vaccines, are able to induce killer T-cell (T C or CTL) responses, helper T-cell (T H) responses and antibody immunity. However, attenuated forms of a pathogen can convert to a dangerous form and may cause disease in immunocompromised vaccine recipients (such as those with AIDS ).
An antibody can be called monospecific if it has specificity for a single antigen or epitope, [74] or bispecific if it has affinity for two different antigens or two different epitopes on the same antigen. [75] A group of antibodies can be called polyvalent (or unspecific) if they have affinity for various antigens [76] or microorganisms. [76]
Antigenicity is the capacity of a chemical structure (either an antigen or hapten) to bind specifically with a group of certain products that have adaptive immunity: T cell receptors or antibodies (a.k.a. B cell receptors). Antigenicity was more commonly used in the past to refer to what is now known as immunogenicity, and the two terms are ...
The genetic material of a virus is stored within a viral protein structure called the capsid. The capsid is a "shield" that protects the viral nucleic acids from getting degraded by host enzymes or other types of pesticides or pestilences. It also functions to attach the virion to its host, and enable the virion to penetrate the host cell membrane.
Antibodies can continue to be an effective defence mechanism even after viruses have managed to gain entry to the host cell. A protein that is in cells, called TRIM21, can attach to the antibodies on the surface of the virus particle.
An illustration that shows how antigens induce the immune system response by interacting with an antibody that matches the molecular structure of an antigen. In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. [1]