Antibodies are specialised, Y-shaped proteins that attach to foreign invaders in the body, whether they be viruses, bacteria, fungus, or parasites, like a lock and key.

 

Antibodies

Antibodies are immune system proteins that circulate in the bloodstream and identify and kill foreign entities such as bacteria and viruses. Antibodies circulate in the bloodstream after exposure to a foreign material termed an antigen, giving protection against subsequent antigen exposures.

Antibodies are a type of defensive mechanism used by the host cell. It's produced by a sort of white blood cell known as a B cell. The structure of the antibody is made up of two light chains and two heavy chains, with a hypervariable area at the very tip that permits the antibody to generate numerous types of antibodies that will respond to all of the antigens that will attack the body. Antigens are substances that are alien to the human body. It might be a virus or a bacteria, and in certain situations, it could even be your own body. And so you can have in certain instances where your own body will make antibodies against parts that are part of you.

The antigen is bound by the two arms at the top of the antibody's Y shape. The antigen is typically a molecule or a molecular fragment from a virus or bacterium. (For example, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has distinct "spikes" on its outer coat, which certain antibodies identify and attach to.) The stalk, or bottom, of the Y, attaches to a number of different immune-system components that can aid in the killing of antigens or mobilisation of the immune system in various ways. Greene told Live Science that one pair of these, for example, sets off the complement cascade.

"Complement is essentially the executioner," according to Greene, punching holes in the target cell, such as a virus's membrane.

Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), all share the same basic Y-shape, but there are five variants on that theme: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, and IgE, according to Jason Cyster, a microbiology and immunology professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Each variety has a unique appearance and serves a unique role in the immune system. IgG, for example, has simply one Y, but IgM, with five Ys stacked together and each prong capable of binding one antigen, resembles the 10-armed Hindu goddess Durga.

IgG and IgM antibodies circulate in the circulation and get to solid organs, according to Cyster. According to Cyster, IgA is "squirted out of the body" in mucus or secretions. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, IgE is the antibody that causes allergic reactions to pollen or peanuts. IgD has long been a mystery, yet one of its functions is to assist activate the cells that produce antibodies.

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