5.5 - Antibodies Flashcards
What are Antibodies?
Proteins with specific binding sites synthesised by B cells
What does the Antibody react with on the surface of non - self material by binding to them?
Antigens
How many identical binding sights does a antibody have?
2
The antibody binding sites are complementary to what?
A specific antigen
The massive variety of antibodies is possible because of what?
They are made of proteins
How many polypeptide chains are antibodies made up of?
4
The bottom pair of polypeptide chain that make up antibodies are called what?
Heavy chains
The two top pairs of polypeptide chains that make up antibodies are called what?
Light chains
Each antibody has a specific binding site that fits very precisely onto a specific antigen to form what is known as what?
Antigen - antibody complex
The binding site is different on different antibodies and is therefore called what?
The variable region
Each binding site consists of what?
A sequence of amino acids that form a specific 3D shape that binds directly to a specific antigen
Other than the varible region what is the rest of the antibody called?
Constant region
What is important to understand about antibodies
They do not destroy antigens directly but rather prepare the antigen for destruction
What two ways do antigens assist in the destruction of pathogens?
- They cause agglutination of the bacterial cells (clump them together - making it easer for phagocytes to locate them)
- They serve as markers that stimulate phagocytosis to engulf the bacterial cells to which they are attached
If a single antibody can be isolated and cloned what is it called?
Monoclonal antibodies
