Functions Of The Different Types Of Antibodies And How Their Structure

Antibodies are involved in the immune response. They're made up of two light polypeptide chains and two heavy polypeptide chains bonded together. Antibodies have a variable region which acts in a similar way to the active site of an enzyme. Each antibody has a variable region that is the complementary shape for a particular antigen and

To fight of viruses, each of them have a special antibody formed to kill that particular virus. To be able to fight them, we need to have more antibodies, so our body produces antibodies to protect itself.

a. Antibodies allow scientists to target and identify specific disease agents because they bind to antigens to counteract them. The more antigens you have, the more antibodies you have, the more the of the virus/bacteria that there is in you.

An antigen is anything in the body the is non self which could include bacteria, viruses, chemicals or abnormal cell growth.

“Humoral immunity is a type of immune response that depends on antibodies.” The response begins when a pathogen binds to a B cell. The B cell will engulf the pathogen and display a part of the antigen on its exterior. Once a T cell is exposed to the antigen-presenting B cell, the T cell will release proteins to activate the B cell. Now that the B cell is activated, it will produce antibodies to cause the pathogens to clump together. In the last stage of humoral immunity, phagocytes will engulf and destroy the pathogens.

IgG – funtions in neutralizing, opsonation, compliment activation, antibody dependent cell-mediated cytocity, neonatal immunity, and feedback inhibition of B-cells and found in the blood.

The organs that make up the lymphatic and immune system are the tonsils, spleen, thymus gland, lymph nodes, and lymphatic vessels. White blood cells (leukocytes), red blood cells (erythrocytes), plasma, and platelets (thrombocytes) make up the blood. Lymphocytes are leukocytes (white blood cells) that help the body fight off diseases. Two types of lymphocytes are B cells and T cells. Lymphocytes recognize antigens, or foreign substances/matter, in the body. Lymphocytes are a classification of agranulocytes, or cells (-cytes) without (a-) granules (granul/o) in the cytoplasm. B cells are created from stem cells, which are located in the bone marrow. B cells respond to antigens by becoming plasma cells. These plasma cells then create antibodies. Memory B cells produce a stronger response with the next exposure to the antigen. B cells fight off infection and bacteria while T cells defend against viruses and cancer cells. A hormone created by the thymus gland called thymosin changes lymphocytes into T cells. The thymus gland is active when you are a child and slowly shrinks, as you get older. T cells bind to the antigens on the cells and directly attack them. T cells secrete lymphokines that increase T cell production and directly kill cells with antigens. There are three types of T cells: cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells, and memory T cells.

It provides evidence that human monoclonal antibodies can neutralize, or inhibit the effect of a broad range of IFV A and B. The study followed the natural immune responses of recently discovered broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAb) on the stem and head regions of IFV A surface protein, Haemagglutinin (HA). Dr. Brandenburg and colleagues were particularly interested in studying the ability of the stem and head binding bnAb to intervene during attachment and fusion, disrupt protein cleavage and contain newly synthesized viruses within the cell at the different stages of the virus’s

Proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers called amino acids. All structural and functional properties of proteins derive from the chemical properties of the polypeptide chain. There are four levels of protein structural organization: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary structure is defined as the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The secondary structure refers to certain regular geometric figures of the chain. Tertiary structure results from long-range contacts within the chain. The quaternary structure is the organization of protein subunits, or two or more independent polypeptide chains.

Immunology basically involves understanding the immune system and how it responds to various disease conditions. the immune system consists of a number of components. Traditionally, it is divided into humoral and cellular immune responses. It can also be distinguished into innate and adaptive immunity. The innate immunity can discriminate between normal tissues , self and newly encountered non-self-proteins while the adaptive immunity is the more complex system aimed at the eradication of intracellular pathogens. To do this, antigen derived from such pathogens that are often new to the host organism, need to be recognised by receptor-bearing specialised immune cells which respond to a complex system of stimulatory and costimulatory signals. Better understanding of the human immune system has led to the identification of a number of tumor-associated antigens in the 1980s and the development of various immunotherapeutic approaches. In recent years, identification of the specific antigenic MHC class I epitopes, advancements in genetic engineering, gene delivery, and cell-based therapeutic approaches allowed development of the novel immunotherapeutics.

There are different types of antibodies which reflect several stages of immune response. HBc Ag can stimulate production of antibodies from two classes, known as immunoglobulin "M" (IgM) and immunoglobulin "G" (IgG):

If IgE antibodies mistakenly reacts to antigens in seemingly harmless substances such as milk, this overproduction of excess mediators such as histamine often trigger the symptoms of food allergy. This can be severe such as with peanut allergy, and may produce symptoms such as leaking blood vessels in the mouth lips and tongue. This swelling may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure pleasing to the victim collapsing in a state of shock. Anaphylactic shock can also block the airways and may be fatal if not treated immediately.

Campbell and Farrell define proteins as polymers of amino acids that have been covalently joined through peptide bonds to form amino acid chains (61). A short amino acid chain comprising of thirty amino acids forms a peptide, and a longer chain of amino acids forms a polypeptide or a protein. Each of the amino acids making up a protein, has a fundamental design that comprises of a central carbon or alpha carbon that is bonded to a hydrogen element, an amino grouping, a carboxyl grouping, and a unique side chain or the R-group (Campbell and Farrell 61).

Antigens are substances that provoke an immune response (they're the ultimate target for the immune system). Antibodies are simply proteins that are secreted as a result of the antigen provoked immune response. In short, antigens cause the disease and

Immunoglobulins are also known as antibodies and they are glycoproteins that are produced by plasma cells. These antibodies are the line of defence against foreign particles such as viruses and bacteria in our human bodies. This is why so much research has been conducted to gain more understanding and knowledge on this protein. The more we know the behavior, structure and function of this protein, the more doors will be open in the field of medicine in fighting off these foreign particles. The interesting aspect of immunoglobulins is that they specifically bind to specific antigens to fight them off such as a specific bacteria or virus, so the specificity of these proteins is very interesting and complex