epitope

Examples of epitope in the following topics:

• Immune Complex Autoimmune Reactions

  • An immune complex is formed from the integral binding of an antibody to a soluble antigen and can function as an epitope.
  • The bound antigen acting as a specific epitope, bound to an antibody is referred to as a singular immune complex .
  • The bound antigen acting as a specific epitope, bound to an antibody is referred to as a singular immune complex.

• Making Memory B Cells

  • To understand the events taking place, it is important to appreciate that the antibody molecules present on a clone (a group of genetically identical cells) of B cells have a unique paratope (the sequence of amino acids that binds to the epitope on an antigen).
  • Some of the resulting paratopes (and the cells elaborating them) have a better affinity for the antigen (actually, the epitope) and are more likely to proliferate than the others.
  • The part of the antigen to which the paratope binds is called an epitope.

• Extracellular Immune Avoidance

  • Other pathogens invade the body by changing the non-essential epitopes on their surface rapidly while keeping the essential epitopes hidden.

• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

  • The sandwich assay uses two different antibodies that are reactive with different epitopes on the antigen with a concentration that needs to be determined.

• MHC Polymorphism and Antigen Binding

  • MHC molecules display a molecular fraction called an epitope and mediate interactions of leukocytes with other leukocytes or body cells.
  • MHC molecules display a molecular fraction called an epitope and mediate interactions of leukocytes with other leukocytes or body cells.

• Clonal Selection of Antibody-Producing Cells

  • All B cells derive from a particular cell, and as such, the antibodies and their differentiated progenies can recognize and/or bind the same specific surface components composed of biological macromolecules (epitope) of a given antigen.
  • Most of such B cells differentiate into plasma cells that secrete antibodies into blood that bind the same epitope that elicited proliferation in the first place.
  • A small minority survives as memory cells that can recognize only the same epitope.

• Finding New Antimicrobial Drugs

  • Some of the proposed areas to investigate include: collecting and examining the list of antimicrobial resistance genes (e.g. exploring the resistome), targeting teichoic acid biosynthesis as a new method to compromise the bacterial wall integrity, producing ribosomal inhibitors to target protein synthesis, targeting outer-membrane transporters with protein epitope mimetics (e.g. mimetics of the cationic antimicrobial peptides that form part of the immune response to microbes), and developing antibody-based strategies and vaccines.

• Neutralization Reaction

  • When a vertebrate is infected with a virus, antibodies are produced against many epitopes of multiple virus proteins.

• In Vivo Testing

  • These preparations will produce multiple antibody types that recognize different epitopes on the antigen, hence the term polyclonal.

• Superantigens

  • The large number of activated T-cells generates a massive immune response which is not specific to any particular epitope on the SAg.