Antibodies
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What are antibodies?
Antibodies are proteins produced by the body’s immune system in response to a foreign substance?
What is an antigen?
A foreign substance
Describe the structure of antibodies.
They are Immunoglobulin proteins (Ig)
What produces antibodies?
Plasma cells
What do antibodies do?
They didn’t fight infection
How do antibodies fight infection?
They neutralise pathogenic micro-organisms
Where are antibodies found?
They are found in blood and body fluids and on B lymphocyte cell surfaces
What do memory cells do?
They are able to be activated to produce antibody when the individual is exposed to the antigen again
What is an epitope?
The smallest part of the antigen to which an antibody can be produced
Give an example of an antigen.
The Hepatitis B virus
What part of the Hepatitis B virus causes the production of an antibody? (2)
Core proteins or surface proteins
What are antibodies composed of?
Heavy chains and light chains
What is found at the tip of the chains of an antibody?
The variable region
What is a variable region?
Its specific for binding to the specific antigen to which it has been produced
How many human antibodies are there?
Five
What are the five human antibodies?
IgM IgA IgD IgG IgE
What is the pneumonic for remembering the five human antibodies?
MADGE
What does IgG do?
It has an important role in immunity to pathogens
How many subtypes are there of IgG?
Four
What does IgD do?
The function is unclear but it is found on B cells
What does IgE do? 2
It binds to allergens Triggers histamine release from mast cells
Describe the structure of IgG, IgD, IgE.
Monomer Ig
Which Immunoglobulins are monomers?
IgG IgD IgE
Describe the structure of IgA.
Dimer structure