Week 16 - Multiple Myeloma Flashcards
What are antibodies?
Immunoglobulins / gammaglobulins that are produced to respond to foreign structures (antigens)
What part of the antigen is recognised by the antibody?
Epitope
Broad role of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes
T - cellular immunity B - humoral (serum) immunity
What is the main function of antibodies?
to neutralise and eliminate the Ags they recognise
What are the two forms of antibodies?
membrane bound on B cell surface Secreted (circulation, tissues, mucosa)
Describe activity of membrane bound Igs
On B cell surface, generally IgD and IgM I don’t think membrane bound antibodies have significant effector functions
Describe activity of secreted Igs
Circulate in blood, can access sites of pathogens Binding abilities AND effector functions May float around as monomer (IgG, IgA, IgE) dimer (IgA) or pentamer (IgM)
Structure of antibodies
two identical heavy chains + two identical light chains 5 types of heavy chains , 2 types of light chains
Main components of serum antibody concentrantion
IgG (5-16g/L); IgA (0.8-4g/L); IgM (0.5-2g/L)
What might you find in urine?
Light chain small enough to get into urine, useful diagnostic feature for some cancers if found in urine
Which immunoglobulin has 4 regions in its heavy chain? How many do the others have?
IgM 3
Types of epitopes (2)
Linear - adjacent amino acid residues COnformational epitopes - non-sequential
What are the effector functions of antibodies?
Neutralisation of microbes, toxins Opsonisation of microbes (marking them for phagocytosis) Activation of complement Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (marking tumour cells for NK cells to find)
Describe hypervariable regions
Portion of antibody that will directly bind with antigen, this bit changes the most to make sure as many antigens as possible can be caught
Generally describe principles of generation of antibody diversity
During development - antibody genes are rearranged to make various alternatives (recombine using VDJ regions)
What is allelic exclusion?
One (heavy chain or light chain segment) is made first - if okay, the other one is made for the set
What is clonal selection?
Antibodies are waiting in the lymph tissues/organs - when an antigen shows up, the correct clone is multiplied to deal with it
Which classes of antibodies work best at different sites and against certain pathogen (blood, mucosa, parasites)
Blood - IgG, IgM Mucosa - IgA Parasites - IgE
Describe the principles of antibody isotype switching
xxx SLIDE 46 Variable region does NOT change Why would it switch? To preform different effector functions
What prompts B cells to start isotype switching?
T helper cells
Describe purpose / role of polymeric (pentameric IgM
Stronger and can bind to more antigens (10 sites)
What is the only antibody that can cross the plcenta to provide neonatal protection?
IgG
What is the main type of antibody in mucosal secretions? And where?
AgA - survives longer as dimer GI , resp, breast milk
Roles of IgE
Fighting parasites, allergic reactions (type 1 hypersensitivity such as asthma)