Chapter 11 Antibodies (Abs) or Immunoglobulins (Igs) Flashcards
Antibodies are ______
glycoproteins produced by plasma cells In response to antigens.
what kind of globulins are Antibodies?
gamma globulins
all Igs consist of four polypeptide chains made up of what?
two identical Light chains and two identical heavy chains held together by a noncovalent and covalent inter and intrachain disulfide bonds. Each chain consist of a variable region and a constant region.
Do IgM and IgE have a hinge region?
They do not have a hinge region.
What is the hinge region?
the proline-rich region between the CH1 and CH2 domains. confers segmental flexibility on the Ig molecule.
What does Papain do?
Cleaves IgG above the S-S bond at the hinge region, producing two antigen binding fragments and one crystalizable fragment.
What does Pepsin do?
Cleaves IgG below the S-S bond at the hinge region, hence the hinge region and interchain disulfide bonds are retained in an F(ab’)2 molecule but the Fc fragment is degraded.
Fab and F(ab)2 can bind to antigens without activating what?
Fc-dependent effector functions.
What does the Fc piece of the antibody do?
Activates complement, can bind to Fc receptors on various cells, initiates placental transfer.
What does the lg identical light chains consist of?
200-250 amino acids linked by S-S bonds to a heavy chain.
What are the two type of isotype classes of light chains?
Kappa and Lambda, A given Ig molecule always contains two Kappa or two lambda light chains but NEVER a mixture of both.
Each Ig molecule consist of 2 identical heavy chains: each heavy chain consist of ?
each heavy chain consists of 450-600 amino acids.
Different CH isotypes and associated Fc regions perform distinct effector functions, such as?
eg, complement activation, opsonization
What do the 3 hypervariable regions of a light chain and the 3 hypervariable regions of a heavy chain form?
they form the antigen-binding site.
What must happen to bring about neutralization and/or elimination of an antigen?
an antibody must bind tightly to the antigen.
this interaction is characterized by noncovalent, reversible binding.
What does Affinity mean?
how strongly an antibody is attracted to an antigen
What is Avidity?
the sum total of the strength of binding of two molecules such as antibody and antigen.
What is an isotype?
refers to the amino acid differences in the CL and CH regions that distinguish each immunoglobulin class and subclass.
What is an Allotype?
Characterized by a few amino acid differences of Ig CL and CH regions
What are allotypic differences used to establish?
Paternity and determine blood stain origins.
What is an idiotype?
these are generated by unique combination of amino acids in the variable regions of the light and heavy chains. Each idiotype is unique for the antigen specific antibody produced by a clone of B cells.