Immunology Exam 3 (Serology, Precip/Agglut, Immunoassays) Flashcards
Antigen-Antibody interactions are affected by 3 forces:
- Antibodys’ various affinity and avidity towards antigens
- Law of mass action
- Precipitation curve/rate
What are the 3 main types of UNLABELED antibody-antigen assays?
Precipitation
Agglutination
Flocculation
What is precipitation rxn?
Soluble antigen and antibody form insoluble complexes that settle at the bottom of the container
What is agglutination rxn?
Soluble antibodies bind to antigens on cell surfaces which causes the cells to aggregate/clump and form insoluble complexes
What is flocculation rxn?
Soluble antibodes combine with antigen to form insoluble complexes that have a lighter density than solution so they float on the surface of the solution
What is affinity? What antibody has the highest affinity?
INITIAL force of attraction between FAB region and epitope of antigen
IgG has highest affinity
What is avidity? What antibody has the highest avidity?
OVERALL STRENGTH of antibody-antigen interactions and is the sum of all affinity
IgM has the highest avidity
The number of Fab binding sites per Ig is referred to as its ________.
Valency
What is the valency of IgM? IgG? IgA? IgD? IgE?
IgM = 10
IgG = 2
IgA = 4
IgD = 2
IgE = 2
What is “K” in the law of mass action? What does increased/decreased K result in?
K is a constant for each antibody and is based upon affinity and avidity.
Inc K = Inc Ab:Ag complexes = more product = higher sensitivity bc easier to detect
Dec K = Dec Ab:Ag complexes = less product = more reactants and substrate needed
Prozone
Zone of antibody excess
Produces a false negative reaction, dilute source of antibody
Postzone
Zone of antigen excess
Produces a false neg or falsely low pos, dilute source of antigen (aka patient sample)
ASSOCIATED W/ THE HOOK EFFECT
What is the optimal area for visible lattice formation for precipitation/agglutination?
Zone of equivalence
What is the Hook Effect?
Excess antigen present in sample that is creating a falsely low positive or false negative. Specimen must be diluted to visualize the true result.
Turbidimetry
- Measures turbidity of sample
- Detects how much light is able to pass through sample and into detector
- Light reduction inversely proportional to sample concentration, AKA less light that is able to go through = more turbidity/higher concentration
Nephelometry
- Measures scattered light as the light passes through the solution
- Opposite of turbidimetry
- Light scattering is directly proportional to sample concentration, AKA less light scatter = lower concentration
Passive diffusion rate is affected by:
- Size of particles (larger migrate slower)
- Temperature (warmer is faster)
- Gel viscosity (more viscous = less migration)
What is the passive immunodiffusion technique?
Uses medium such as agarose gel to measure precipitation reactions between antibodies and antigens with NO electrical current applied
What is radial immunodiffusion?
Single diffusion technique where only the antigen is mobile. The reagent antibody is distributed in the gel.
Antigen concentration can be determined by plotting concentration of antigen (x) vs the diameter of the precipitation ring (y).
What is Mancini End-Point Method?
Radio immunodiffusion technique with prolonged incubation
The ring diameter squared is directly proportional to the concentration of the antigen.
What is Ouchterlong Double Diffusion?
Multiple wells with Ab + Ag independently diffusing across the medium with both Ab and Ag being mobile
What is the purpose of Ouchterlong Double Diffusion?
To see if there are shared epitopes between different antigens against the same antibody
There are 3 possible precipitation patterns for the Ouchterlong Double Diffusion test. Describe “identity” pattern.
An arc is formed due to fusion of Ab/Ag, indicating serological identity of shared epitope to Fab site
There are 3 possible precipitation patterns for the Ouchterlong Double Diffusion test. Describe “non-identity” pattern.
X pattern forms due to lack of fusion between Ab/Ag, indicating no shared epitopes between Ag/Ab.
There are 3 possible precipitation patterns for the Ouchterlong Double Diffusion test. Describe “partial identity” pattern.
T pattern forms due to partial fusion of Ab/Ag. This indicates that the antigens share a common epitope, but one antigen has higher expression of the epitope of interest so the open end (aka “alligator mouth”) will face the antigen with higher expression of the epitope.
Cathode
Negatively charged, attracts cations (which are positively charged)
Anode
Positive charged, attracts anions (which are negatively charged)
Electrophoresis
Molecules are separated out based on their electrical charge through a gel
What does electrophoresis look like for someone with hypogammaglobulinemia?
No gamma region, lacking Igs
What does electrophoresis look like for someone with multiple myeloma?
LARGE gamma region, indicating monoclonal gammopathy
**Know the normal/abnormal patterns of electrophoresis.
**Know how to interpret IFEs
What is immunofixation electrophoresis?
Qualitative technique to see increases or decreases of Igs in patient serum.
Which assays would be best for monoclonal gammopathy diagnosis?
Electrophoresis (screen)
IFE (confirmatory)
Immunoglobulins that combine with exposed/surface antigens to form insoluble agglutination are known as __________.
Agglutinins
Direct agglutination
Agglutination that results from antigens naturally found on a particle or cell
Hemagglutination
Agglutination that involves antigens on natural cells, erythrocytes (blood bank)
Passive agglutination
Indirect agglutination where artificial particles are coated with antigens and you are trying to detect ANTIBODY
Reverse passive agglutination
Indirect agglutination where artificial antibodies are used to detect ANTIGEN
Passive vs reverse passive agglutination
Passive: detecting antibody
Reverse passive: detecting antigen
Describe agglutination inhibition reaction.
If patient sample has hapten of interest, there will be no agglutination = positive result
If patient does not have hapten of interest, agglutination occurs = negative result