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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.
Neutralizing antibodies are used for passive immunisation, and can be used for patients even if they do not have a healthy immune system. In the early 20th century, infected patients were injected with antiserum, which is the blood serum of a previously infected and recovered patient containing polyclonal antibodies against the infectious agent.
Anti-streptolysin O (ASO or ASLO) is the antibody made against streptolysin O, an immunogenic, oxygen-labile streptococcal hemolytic exotoxin produced by most strains of group A and many strains of groups C and G Streptococcus bacteria. The "O" in the name stands for oxygen-labile; the other related toxin being oxygen-stable streptolysin-S.
Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids.In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. [1] Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given microorganism), [2] against other foreign proteins (in response, for example, to a mismatched blood transfusion), or to one's own proteins (in ...
Blood is normally sterile. [1] The presence of bacteria in the blood is termed bacteremia, and the presence of fungi is called fungemia. [2] Minor damage to the skin [3] or mucous membranes, which can occur in situations like toothbrushing or defecation, [4] [5] can introduce bacteria into the bloodstream, but this bacteremia is normally transient and is rarely detected in cultures because the ...
This image explains agglutination in the blood. Agglutination is the clumping of particles. The word agglutination comes from the Latin agglutinare (glueing to).. Agglutination is a reaction in which particles (as red blood cells or bacteria) suspended in a liquid collect into clumps usually as a response to a specific antibody.
Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), also referred to as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, is a mechanism of cell-mediated immune defense whereby an effector cell of the immune system kills a target cell, whose membrane-surface antigens have been bound by specific antibodies. [1]
The principles of specificity and cross-reactivity of the antigen-antibody interaction are useful in clinical laboratory for diagnostic purposes. One basic application is determination of ABO blood group. It is also used as a molecular technique for infection with different pathogens, such as HIV, microbes, and helminth parasites.