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Antibody production and vaccination

Topic 11
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1

Biology HL

This division is known as cell cloning because all the daughter cells
of these mitotic process are capable of producing the same antibody

➢ These cells then can differentiate into 2 types of cells
○

Plasma cells that can produce a lot of specific antibody needed

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Long lived memory cells that don’t produce antibodies, but they remain in
the bloodstream at a high concentration waiting for subsequent infections

True immunity
➢ Antigen presentation, T- and B- cell activation and B-cell cloning are the event
that occur during a primary infection
➢ How serious the symptoms are depends on the speed of replication of the pathogen
and the type of tissue it’s damaging
➢ When a 2nd infection of the same pathogen occurs, the memory cells are capable of
responding very quickly
Antibodies

➢ Antibodies are protein molecules produce by plasma cell leucocytes in response to a
specific pathogen
➢ They’re “Y” shaped
➢ They have a region, sequences of amino acids, that’s constant for all antibodies
➢ Another region, called binding site , is variable with 2 specific sequences of amino
acids able to form intermolecular bonds with a specific antigen
➢ The antibodies attach to the antigens of the pathogen
○

Marking it for destruction by other cells of the immune system

○

Binding many pathogens to each other making them easier to engulf by the
macrophages

○

Recruiting other cells and proteins to fight it

➢ Each pathogen usually has a few different antigens, so a few different antibodies
are produced, called polyclonal antibodies
Vaccination
➢ One of the fundamental principles of immunity is that an organism can’t be
immune to a pathogen before being exposed to it at least once
➢ A vaccine is typically composed of the chemical components of a pathogen after
eliminating the disease-causing abilities of the pathogen causing a primary
immune response to take place and memory cells to form
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Antibody production and vaccination

Topic 11
...
1

Biology HL

A hybrid cell called hybridoma is created which are long-lived and
produces antibodies

○

The entire mix is transferred to an environment in which only the
hybridoma cells can survive

○

Individual surviving hybridoma cells are cultured in separate containers

○

They’re tested for the presence of a particular antibody using the protocol
ELISA, which identifies which containers hold a pure colony of B cells that
are producing the type of antibody desired

○

The hybridoma cells are virtually immortal as long as they’re kept in a
suitable environment

Pregnancy
➢ Monoclonal antibodies can be used for a wide variety of diagnostic purposes
○

Ex: pregnancy testing

➢ The embryo begins to produce the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)
➢ Hybridoma cells can be formed that produce antibodies specific for HCG
○

These anti-HCG antibodies are chemically bonded to an enzyme that
catalyzes a colour change when the antibody encounters HCG molecules

Allergies
➢ Allergies are the result of an immune response releasing histamine
➢ It occurs when a non-pathogenic substance, called allergen, is encountered by
certain leucocytes
➢ When a person/animal that has a particular allergy is first exposed to that allergen,
they produce a class of antibody known as IgE, which bind to specific white blood
cells called mast cells
➢ When the allergen is encountered a 2nd time, these IgE bind to the allergen and
trigger a response
○

Mast cells release large amounts of histamine causing the symptoms
characteristic of an allergy

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