test 2 Flashcards
what are antibodies/immunoglobulin
Circulating proteins produced by vertebrates in response to foreign antigens
-Primary mediators of humoral immunity against all classes of microbes
what are the two types of antibodies?
- Membrane-bound on B lymphocyte surface: Function= antigen receptor
- Secreted antibodies in circulation and tissues: Function= Prevent entry and spread of microbes and neutralize toxins
Plasma and serum proteins are generally separated into:
albumins and Globulins
- Antibodies are generally found in gamma globulins
describe the common structure of antibodies
- symmetric core structure composed of two identical light chains and two identical heavy chains that both contain a series of repeating units that fold in a globular motif that is called an ig domain which contains two layers of beta-pleated sheet
- Both heavy chain and light chains have terminal variable regions that participate in antigen binding C regions
- The C regions of the heavy chains mediate effector functions (regions interact with effector cells or molecules)
- two antigen binding sites
- disulphide bonds link the Ab molecule together
- Fc receptors bind antibody constant regions
heavy chain vs light chain C region and variable region
heavy chains:
V region- one Ig domain
C region- 3-4 Ig domains
light chains:
V region- one Ig domain
C region- one Ig domain
what are proteolytic fragments of an igG molecule
-the unfolded hinge region between the domains of the heavy chain are the most susceptible to proteolytic cleavage by enzymes
Fab: fragment, antigen binding- these two fragments retain the ability to bind antigens
Fc: Fragment, crystallizable- can self-associate and crystallize into a lattice
where is most of the sequence and variability differences among different antibodies confined to
three short stretches in the V region of the heavy chain and three stretches in the V region of the light chain
- Each stretch ~10 amino acids
- Variability in antigen binding is generated by hypervariable segments/regions that form loops that act as fingers and constitute the antigen binding region
- Hypervariable regions can also be called complementarity-determining regions (CDRs)
what are isotypes
distinct classes of antibody molecules divided based on differences in the structure of the heavy and light chain C regions
ex IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, IgM
IgA and IgG can be subdivided into closely related subclasses
-the heavy chain C regions of all antibody molecules of one isotype have essentially the same amino acid sequence that are different from other isotypes and have different effector functions
what permits antibodies to bind to different arrays of antigens ?
their flexibility that is conferred, in large part by a hinge region permitting molecular motion
- some flexibility of the antibody molecules is due to the ability of each Vh domain to rotate with respect to the adjacent Ch1 domain
- Allows them to bind two antigens
- Some of the greatest difference between isotypes exist in the hinge region- Leads to different shapes
secreted vs membrane-associated antibodies
-differ in the amino acid sequence of the carboxyl-terminal end of the heavy chain C region
secreted: carboxyl terminal portion is hydrophilic
membrane-bound: carboxyl stretch includes 2 segments: a hydrophobic a-helical transmembrane region followed by intracellular positively charged stretch that bind to neg charged phospholipid head
monomeric vs multimeric isotypes
Secreted IgG, IgE and all membrane-bound forms are monomeric
- Secreted forms of IgM and IgA form multimeric complexes (2+ core Ab molecules are joined)
- Secreted IgM can be pentameric or hexameric
- Multimeric Ab bind antigen with more avidly
Injection of Ig molecules from one species into another results in
an immune response to the different Ab because constant regions of antibodies are different between different species
- makes antibodies largely against the C regions of the introduced Ig
- the response often creates an illness called serum sickness
what are allotypes and idiotypes
allotypes: are polymorphic variants in the sequence of antibodies found in an individual of a species where the variant is recognized by an antibody (same species, different alleles)
idiotypes: the differences between the antibody V regions (same species, different Vh and Vl domains)
what are monoclonal antibodies
- produces a lot of antibodies of a single specificity
- from a single activated B-cell (All effector plasma cells generate same antibody)
- Can fuse B cell with myeloma cancer cell to form a hybridoma which makes only one Ig and is are monoclonal
how are monoclonal antibodies used in research
- Identification of phenotypic markers unique to specific cell types
- Separate differentiate cell types (classification of leukocytes) - Immunodiagnosis
- Infectious and systemic diseases diagnosis - Tumor Detection
- Therapy
limitations of monoclonal antibodies
- Most monoclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing mice but patients treated with mouse antibodies may make antibodies against the mouse Ig, called human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA)
- HAMA block the function or enhance the clearance of the injected monoclonal antibody and can also cause serum sickness
Expression of Antibodies
Heavy and light chains are synthesized on membrane bound ribosomes in the rough ER and the protein is translocated into the ER
- the heavy chains are glycosylated during the translocation process’
- Covalent association of heavy and light chains, stabilized by formation of disulphide bonds also occurs in the ER
- after assembly, the Ig molecules are transported into the Golgi complex where carbohydrates are modified and then moved to plasma membrane in vesicles
- antibodies of the membrane form are anchored in the plasma membrane and the secreted form is transported out of the cell
Expression of Antibodies 2.0
the maturation of B cells from bone marrow progenitors is accompanied by specific changes in Ig gene expression, resulting in the production of Ig molecules in different forms (Expression of Ab changes as B cell differentiates)
- Naive mature B cells makes membrane-bound IgM and IgD which serve as cell surface receptors that recognize antigens and initiate the process of B cell activation and differentiation into plasma cells
- this activation is accompanied with changes to antibody production such as an increased production of the secreted form of Ig relative to the membrane form
- the second change is the expression of Ig heavy chain isotypes other than IgM and IgD, called class switching
what is the half-life of circulating antibodies?
a measure of how long those antibodies remain in the blood after secretion from B cells (or after injection)
- it is the mean time before the number of antibody molecules is reduced by half
- different antibody isotypes have different half lives
Half-life of Ab is dependent on isotype:
IgE - 2 days in circulation, very short
IgA - 3 days in circulation
IgM - 4 days in circulation
IgG - 21-28 days, very long due to its ability to bind to a specific FcR called the neonatal Fc receptor
what is an antigen and give examples
any substance that may be specifically bound by an antibody molecule or T cell receptor:
Complex carbohydrates Phospholipids Nucleic acids Proteins Metabolite Hormones lipids sugars (T cell receptors mainly recognize peptides) -All antigens are recognized by specific lymphocytes or by Ab however only some can activate lymphocytes
Immunogens
molecules that stimulate immune responses
- some are antigens
- Only macromolecules (proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids) can stimulate B cells because B cell activation requires linking of multiple antigen receptors to elicit T cell help