Antigens

(By Dr. Devinder Toor)

Substances capable of inducing a specific IR

• Immunogenicity: ability to induce a humoral and/or cell mediated immune response

• B cell + Ag àeffector B Cells (Plasma Cellss)+Memory B cells

• T cell + Ag àeffector T Cells (CTLs, Th etc)+ Memory T cells

• Immunogen: Substance that induces a specific IR - usually called Ag, appropriately called
Immunogen

• Antigenicity: property of an Ag that allows it to react with the products of IR (Ab/cell surface
Ags)

Types of Ag

• Exogenous Ags

• Endogenous Ags

àInfectious disease, autoimmune disease, allergic responses, cancers

Factors that influence Immunogenicity

• Contribution of the Immunogen

• Contribution of the Biological system

• Contribution of the Immunogen

1. Foreignness
2. Ag should be genetically foreign to the host
3. Recognized as non-self by the host
4. Degree of immunogenecity of an Ag – degree of its foreignness
5. Greater the phylogenetic distance between two species, greater the structural difference,
greater the immunogenicity
6. Eg - BSA; not immunogenic in cow but strongly immunogenic in rabit

2. Molecular size
• Correlation between size of macromolecule and its immunogenecity
• Best immunogens – mol mass 100,000Da
• Poor immunogens - mol mass less than 5000-10,000Da
• Greater the mol size, greater is the immunogenecity
•
3.Chemical Composition & Heterogeneity
• Homopolymers (polymers composed of single aa) – lack immunogenecity [regardless of size]
• Heteropolymers (polymers composed of different aa) – immunogenic [even less size]
Greater the heterogeneity, greater the immunogenity

4. Susceptibility to Ag processing & presentation

• MHC
• Ag – presented to TH cells – MHC II
• Ag – presented to Tc cells – MHC I
• Macromolecules that cannot be degraded & presented with MHC mol are poor immunogens
• Degradative enzymes within APCs can degrade L-aa but not D-aa
• Therefore, Proteins with D-aa are poor immunogens

5. Complexity
• Four levels of protein organization
• more complexity of protein, more is immungenicity

Contribution of Biological system

Genetic constitution (genotype) of host

• Degree of response
• Hugh Mc Devitt – injected polypeptide immunogen in two diff strains of mice à mice responded
differently with one showing high Ab titer and other low
• Confined to MHC genes, MHC gene product play central role in determining degree of immune
responsiveness
• Apart from MHC, gene that codes for BCR, TCR, proteins of immune regulatory mechanisms
• Genetic variability affects immunogenicity

Dosage of Immunogen
• Dose response curve – determined by measuring the IR to various doses
• Optimal dose – peak IR
• Insufficient dose – fail to stimulate an IR

Route of Immunogen administration

• Intravenous
• Intradermal
• Subcutaneous
• Intramuscular
• Intraperitoneal