ANTIGENECITY AND

IMMUNOGENECITY
Dr.Sujit Ghosh
Antigen Vs Immunogen
Antigen Immunogen

A substance specifically binds to antibodies or An antigen capable of immunogenic response

a cell surface receptor of B cell and T cell

Can either be immunogenic or Always immunogenic

nonimmunogenic

Chemically protein, nucleic acid, Chemically protein, polysaccharides

polysaccharides,lipids

Haptens can bind with antibodies but not Haptens with attached protein is
immunogenic immunogenic
Immunogenecity and Antigenecity
 Immunogenecity : ability to induce humoral and cell
mediated immune response. All Immunogens are antigen.
 B cell+ Antigen→Effector B Cell +Memory B cell
 T cell+ Antigen→ Effector T Cell+ Memory T cell

 Ability to combine specifically the product of humoral or cell

mediated immune response.All antigen are not immunogen.
 Antigenecity is the ability to combine specifically with secreated
antibodies and surface receptor of T cell

All the molecule which have the properties of immunogenecity also

have the properities of antigenicity
 Chemical Molecular
Complexity Size

Chemical Dose of
Composition Immunogen

Foreignness
Genetic
from self Characteristics
Constitution
structure of of immunogen
of the Host
host
Features of Immunogen

1. Foreignness of the Immunogen (relative degree of difference

of the immunogen from self-structures of the host):
 Upon entry of the immunogen into the animal body, immune responses are usually induced
against short peptide structures of the immunogen. But animal cells are also made up of
many peptides. If the peptides of the immunogen happen to be similar to the peptides of the
animal cell, the animal’s immune system will not develop immune responses against the
immunogen.
 [For example, isolate albumin from the serum of rabbit and inject the albumin back into the
same rabbit. There is no immune response against the injected albumin, because the injected
albumin is not recognized as foreign (“non- self”) by the rabbit. Whereas, if albumin from a
rabbit is injected into a guinea pig, the guinea pigs immune system recognizes the injected
albumin as foreign (“non- self”) and mount immune responses against the injected albumin.
 Therefore for the induction of immune responses, the immunogen should have peptides
different from the peptides of the animal, which is referred to as foreignness of the
immunogen.
Chemical Composition and chemical
complexity
 Usually proteins are potent immunogens. Polysaccharides and
some synthetic organic polymers (For example, polyvinyl
pyrrolidone) can also be immunogenic. Usually lipids are not
immunogenic. But few lipids, (like the mycolic acid of
mycobacteria) are known to be immunogenic.
 Molecules with complex nature are more immunogenic when
compared to simple molecules. Molecules with more than two or
three different amino acid residues are more immunogenic
when compared to molecules made of homopolymers of a single
amino acid. Aromatic amino acids are more immunogenic than
nonaromatic amino acids. Polypeptides with amino acid
tyrosine are better immunogens than polypeptides without
tyrosine.
Molecular size
 The most potent immunogens are proteins with a molecular size greater
than 100,000. Substances smaller than MW 10,000 are not usually
immunogenic. Yet, molecular size is not an absolute criterion with
respect to the immunogenicity of a substance because few peptides with
molecular weights below 1,100 also induce strong immune responses.
Dose of Immunogen
The minimum quantity of the immunogen required to induce immune responses in
animals varies with respect to the animal and the immunogen. If tiny amount of
immunogen is used, very poor immune responses may be induced. On the other
hand, if too large amount of immunogen is used, the animal may fail to develop any
immune response at all; a condition called tolerance (or specific unresponsiveness).
This phenomenon is also referred to as high-dose tolerance.
Genetic Constitution of the Host
The immune response of an animal to a particular
substance also depends on the genetic constitution of
the animal. A particular substance may induce
immune response in rabbits. Whereas, the same
substance may not induce immune response in guinea
pigs. Even within the same species, one strain may
respond to a particular substance whereas other strain
may not respond to that substance.
Route of entry of Immunogen
 The route of entry of the immunogen into the body of an animal
greatly influences the type and intensity of the immune responses.
[For example, the entry of the microbe through gut mucosa (oral
route) leads to IgA type of antibody production, whereas if the
same microbe enters through the skin it leads to IgG type of
antibody production].
Oral route: Subcutaneous Intramuscular Intravenous Respiratory Genitourinary
route: route: route route route
Enter through Enter the tissues Injected into the Injected directly Inhaled through Enter through
mouth just below the muscles into the veins respiratory the genital or
skin (by injury or system urinary tract.
injection)
  Immune system = cells, tissues,
Definitions and molecules that mediate
resistance to infections
 Immunology = study of structure
and function of the immune
system
 Immunity = resistance of a host to
pathogens and their toxic effects
 Immune response = collective and
coordinated response to the
introduction of foreign substances
in an individual mediated by the
cells and molecules of the immune
system
Functions of  Defense against microbes
the immune  Defense against the growth

system of tumor cells

 kills the growth of tumor
cells
 Homeostasis
 destruction of abnormal or
dead cells
(e.g. dead red or white blood
cells, antigen-antibody
complex)
Immunoadjuvents
 These agents are generally used in the vaccine development for the
generation of greater immune response.
 They act as an immune enhancer of antigenic component of vaccine.
Adjuvants augment, stimulate, potentiate, enhance, activate, or modulate
the immune response at either cellular or humoral level.
 Exogenous best known examples include Freund’s adjuvant, Bacillus
Calmette–Guérin (BCG), Corynebacterium parvum; all of which contain
bacterial antigen.
 Endogenous adjuvants include histamine, IL-1, tuftsin, transfer factor,
and interferon.
 Although, their mode of action may be nonspecific but it results in
increased immune responsiveness to a variety of antigens or group of
antigens.
Mechanism of action of Immunoadjuvents
Proposed mechanisms of action of adjuvants.
 Some adjuvants presumably form a depot at the site of injection, which is
associated with slow release of antigen.
 Other adjutants are associated with transient secretion of cytokines and
chemokines. Secreted cytokines and chemokines are involved in recruitment of
various immune cells to the injection site. These recruited cells secrete cytokines
and chemokines, in turn attract other immune cells. All these events lead to
formation of a local immuno-competent environment at the injection site.
 The recruited APCs express various PRRs both on the surface (TLRs, CLRs) and
intracellularly (NLRs and RLRs), which are recognized and/or are activated by the
adjuvants.
 This leads to maturation and activation of recruited APCs. Mature APCs up-
regulate the expression of MHC and co-stimulatory molecules.
 They are also characterized by increased capacity for antigen processing and
presentation.
 Mature APCs then migrate to the draining lymph nodes to interact with antigen-
specific B or T cell to (8) activate potent antibody secreting B cells and/or effector
CD8+ T cell responses.
Mode of action of Immunoadjuvents
Immunostimulants

 These agents also stimulate or boost either cellular or humoral immune responses.
 Some of them are specific immunostimulants, such as vaccines, which stimulate an
immune response against specific antigens contrary to nonspecific stimulants.
 These types of stimulants are being used widely in the cases of autoimmunity, allergy,
immunodeficiency, and cancer.
 In healthy individuals, stimulants act as a prophylactic agent, that is, they potentiate the
basal levels of immune system. When an individual is exposed to pathogen, it elicits the
heightened immune response that allows the rapid clearance of pathogen and its products
that eventually prevent disease. In individuals with impaired immune response, stimulants
act as immunotherapeutic agents.
 Immunocompromised condition includes patients with primary and secondary
immunodeficiency.
 A condition resulting from a genetic or developmental defect in immune system is called
as primary immunodeficiency. For example, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID),
Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS), and X-linked agammaglobulinemia.
 Secondary immunodeficiency is the loss of immune function, which results from
exposure to various agents, for example, AIDS, malignancy, different types of
immunostimulants like cytokines (IL-2, interferons, G-CSF), microbial toxins/fragments,
herb, venom and so on.
Immunosuppressants

 These agents weaken or suppress the activation of the immune

system.
 In general, immunosupression is of two types-
 deliberate induced
◼ In deliberately induced immunosuppression, there is a need for the same
because it is performed mainly to prevent body from rejecting an organ
transplant, treating graft-versus-host disease after a bone marrow transplant,
or the treatment of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Grave’s
disease, and myasthenia gravis. Cortisone was the first immunosuppressant
identified but its use is limited because of side effects, but discovery of
cyclosporine led to the remarkable choice and is being used in various
transplantations (including kidney, liver, and heart). Tacrolimus and sirolimus
antibiotics are also used in transplantation and graft rejection.
 Nondeliberate immune suppression.
◼ Nondeliberate immunosuppression can occur in aging, malnutrition, cancer,
and chronic infections like HIV. In this case, unwanted immunosuppression
leads to the increase in susceptibility to various pathogens, such as bacteria,
fungi, viruses, or protozoans (Abbas et al., 2012).
 Organs Cells .Molecules

Thymus Lymphocytes •Antibodies

Lymph nodes •T-lymphocytes •Complement
Spleen •B-Lymphocytes, plasma •Cytokines
Payer’s patches cells •Interleukines
Appendix •natural killer •Interferons
Immune Lymphatic vessels
lymphocytes
•Monocytes, Macrophage
Bone marrow
System Tonsils and adenoids
•Granulocytes
•neutrophils
•eosinophils
•basophils
 First line of immune
response
Innate (non-
adaptive)
Relies on mechanisms
that exist before
infection

Second line of
Types of immunity response (if innate
fails)

Relies on mechanisms
that adapt after
infection
.Acquired (adaptive)

Handled by T- and
B- lymphocytes

One cell determines

one antigenic
determinant