Quantitative Assays of Immunity Flashcards
What type of forces hold Ag and Ab together?
non-covalent:
- Ionic
- Hydrogen
- Hydrophobic
- van der Wals
What is an ionic force?
attraction between opposite charged groups like O- in carboxylic acid (aspartic acid) with hydrogen in amino groups (lysine)
What three AA side chains form hydrophobic interactions?
Leucine, isoleucine, valine
When leucine, isoleucine and valine interact with each other what happens?
They squeeze out water surrounding the reactants so water is order when it is around Ab or Ag and is disordered when excluded from the Ag-Ab interface
The strength of the interaction between Ab and Ag can be estimated by applying ___________.
Law of Mass action
What measures the strength of an Ag-Ab interaction?
association/dissociation (Kon/Koff)
Typical Ab-Ag interactions have dissociation constants in the _______________range.
low nm
What is the equation for association constant?
Ka= Kon/Koff = (Ag-Ab/) Ab*Ag
What is the equation for dissociation constant?
Kd= Koff/Kon= Ab*Ag/(Ag-Ab)
Would the Kd be high or low for an Ab-Ag interaction with high affinity?
Low because there would be more complex than free Ag or Ab
What is the difference between affinity and avidity?
Affinity is the strength of the interaction between ONE combining site of the Ab and ONE Ag epitope.
Avidity is the summation of all interactions between combining sites of the Ab (2 for IgG, 5 for IgM) and all the identical epitopes of Ag
Why is avidity NOT the arithmatic mean of the affinity of a single binding site?
Multivalent binding of Ag to each arm of the Ab confers an enhancing effect because when one combining site dissociates the other binding site is still bound and stabilizes the complex
Avidity is only relevant when _______________________ are being considered.
repetitive antigens on a surface
What is cross-reactivity?
Sometimes an Ab directed toward a specific antigen can bind structurally related but not identical isotopes.
They will bind these epitopes with lower affinity then the EXACT epitope they are specific for.
What is a monoclonal Ab?
An Ab derived from a clonal population of cells so it will have specificity for the same epitope on an antigen as its clones
What is a polyclonal Ab?
mixtures of different Ab that bind to different epitopes of the antigen. Some may bind to overlapping or the same epitope of the antigen.
What is the necessary condition for the precipitation of any soluble Ag?
More than one of its epitopes must interact with a bivalent Ab or polyclonal Ab
When a precipitate is forming a lattice of ________ is formed with increased ____ and decreased _______.
Ag-Ab complexes
size
solubility
What are the two quantitative ways to measure the cloudiness of a mixture of Ag-Ab?
- Turbidimetry
2. Nephelometry
Can a monovalent antigen for a precipitate?
No because there is no cross-linking effects
Antigens with two or more identical epitopes can be precipitated by_____________./
Divalent Abs directed against the epitope (2 antibodies that bind the same antigenic epitope)
Ag expressing two or more different epitopes can be precipitated by ______________________________.
a mixture of divalent Ab (polyclonal)
What does the amount of immune precipitate depend on?
The Ag/Ab ratio
What is it called when there is excess Ab, so weak or no precipitate forms?
Prozone
What is it called when there is an antigen excess so no precipitate forms?
Post zone
Only when Ag and Ab concentrations are ___________________________ does optimal precipitation occur. This is called the ___________________.
equivalent or close to equivalence (# of combining sites is equal to the # of epitopes)
Equivalence zone
Why would an excess of antigen (post zone) not allow for precipitation?
The antigen will bind monovalently so immune complexes will not form
What is the precipitation reaction useful for studying?
serum sickness