ANTIGEN

IMMUNOGEN

 Causes a detectable immune

response.
 Response can be either
humoral, cellular or both.
 ANTIGEN

 Ability
of the substance to
combine with an antibody.
 HAPTEN

 Antigenicsubstances of low
molecular weight rarely
stimulate the formation of Abs.
 2 MAJOR CLASSES OF
IMMUNOGENS
 Thymic-dependent antigens
 Thymic-independent antigens
 THYMIC-DEPENDENT
ANTIGENS
 Require the help of the T cells
for the formation of Abs.
 THYMIC-INDEPENDENT
ANTIGENS
 Stimulate Ab production w/o
interacting w/ T cells.
 Compose of repeating units.
 The response is of the IgM
class w/ little or no immunologic
memory granted.
TERMS IN DESCRIBING
AN ANTIGEN
 AUTOLOGOUS ANTIGEN

 Refersto one’s own antigen

w/c would stimulate the
production of autoAb.
HETEROLOGOUS ANTIGEN

 A different
Ag from that used in
the immunization.
 May or may not react w/ the Ab
formed, depending upon the
chemical similarity to the
immunizing Ag.
 HOMOLOGOUS ANTIGEN

 Refersto the Ag used in the

production of Ab.
 HETEROPHIL ANTIGEN

 Known as heterogenic Ags

 Exist in unrelated plants or
animals but are either identical
or so closely related that Abs to
one will cross-react w/ Abs to
the other.
FACTORS AFFECTING
IMMUNOGENICITY
 1. FOREIGNNESS

 Ag must be recognized as “foreign”

or “non-self”.
 The extent of the response
depends on the degree of
foreignness of the CHON.
 E.g. duck serum CHON is a good
Ag to plants
 2. MOLECULAR SIZE

 A molecular weight of about

10,000 Dalton are antigenic.
 High molecular weight
molecules of 500,000 Dalton
are the best Ags.
 E.g. egg albumin, tetanus toxin
 3. DIVERSITY

 Immunogen molecule itself

must be diverse rather than
being composed of a single
amino acid or
monosaccharride.
 Antigenic determinant sites are
also known as epitopes.
 3. DIVERSITY

 Epitope is approximately 4 to 6
amino acids or 5 to 7
monosaccharrides in length.
 E.g. aromatic amino acids
(tyrosine) provide more
immunogenicity than non-
aromatic amino acids.
 4. CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION &
COMPLEXITY
 Antigens are usually large organic
molecules that are either CHON
w/c are excellent.
 Lipids & nucleic acid are poor
antigens because of simplicity, lack
of structural ability, molecular
flexibility & rapid degradation.
5. GENETIC COMPOSITION

 Has recently been found to

have an impact on the
individual’s ability to respond to
an immunogen.
 If a particular MHC antigen is
not absent for an immunogen,
there will be no response.
 6. ROUTE, DOSAGE &
TIMING OF PARENTERAL
ADMINISTRATION
 Intravenous & intraperitoneal
routes are effective.
 Intradermal route offers stronger
stimulus than the subcutaneous or
intramuscular route.
 The smaller the dose, the less
likely the response.
PARTS OF AN ANTIGEN
 CARRIER

 Molecular weight over 10,000

Dalton
ANTIGENIC DETERMINANT
GROUP
 Combines w/ specific Ab.
 Size may be quite small in
relation to the size of the whole
molecule Ag.
FUNCTIONS OF AN
ANTIGEN
 MAJOR

 Stimulateproduction of
antibodies or immune
response.
 MINOR

 Capable of reacting w/
antibody.
CLASSIFICATION OF
ANTIGEN
 COMPLETE ANTIGEN

 Two parts are present &

perform both functions.
 INCOMPLETE ANTIGEN

 Hapten
 Either
the carrier or partial
determinant group is present &
only one function is present.
(the major function).
KINDS OF ANTIGEN
 AGGLUTINOGEN

 A particulateantigen w/c when

reacted w/ its antibody results
in the appearance of clumps or
agglutination.
 PRECIPITINOGEN

 A soluble antigen w/c when

reacted w/ antibody results in
precipitation or settling out of
antigen.
 VIRUS, RICKETTSIAE

 Actedupon by neutralizing
(protective) antibodies in virus
neutralizing reactions.
 TOXIN

 Neutralized by antitoxin in
toxin-antitoxin neutralization
reaction.
 ALLERGENS,
ANAPHYLACTOGENS
 Actedupon by allergenic
antibodies in allergic reactions.
RATE OF ABSORPTION &
ELIMINATION OF ANTIGEN
 Effectiveness of an antigen as a stimulus
for Ab production: rate of absorption &
elimination from the site of administration.
 Major portion of infected antigen is often
eliminated from the host w/in hours or
days.
 Antibody response will be higher & more
sustained if the antigen is absorbed slowly
from its “depot” at the site of infection.
MITOGENS
 MITOGENS

 Inducemitosis.
 Considered mimics of antigens
because of their proliferative
response they initiate in
lymphocytes causes these cells to
engage in the same cellular &
chemical activities that follow their
exposure to antigens.
 SELECTED MITOGENS

 B cell mitogens
1. Lipopolysaccharride
2. CHON A
3. Anti-immunoglobulin
 SELECTED MITOGENS

 T cell mitogens
1. Concanavalin A (Con A)
2. Phytohemagglutinins
 SELECTED MITOGENS

 Combined B & T cell mitogens

1. Pokeweed mitogen-
phytolaca americana
2. Lectins