antibodies Flashcards
what are antibodies?
proteins that recognise and bind to specific antigens
what is the same in all antibodies?
constant regions
what is different in all antibodies?
variable regions and the tertiary structure
what would you see an increased amount of in a cell that produces antibodies eg a plasma cell
RER- to make and transport the proteins of the antibodies
golgi apparatus- to sort, process and compile the proteins
mitochondria- the release of energy needed for a huge antibody production
what is agglutination?
when antibodies can cause microbes to stick together which makes it easier for phagocytes to engulf them
why are antibodies are quaternary structure?
because they have disulphide bridges and there are different protein chains/polypeptides joined together
what are polyclonal antibodies?
when pathogens have more than one antigen on their surface which so they stimulate more than one type of memory cell. This results in the production of many different antibodies - polyclonal antibodies
how do viruses enter their host cell?
they have proteins on their surface that recognise and bind to receptors on the surface of the host cell
how do antibodies stop viruses attaching to host cells?
bind to them so they cant bind to the cell
how many binding sites does an antibody have?
2
