BRAINCAKEHow Antibodies Work
Neutralisation.
Antibodies bind to toxins produced by pathogens making them harmless.
Pathogens that invade the host cell using host-cell receptors are unable to do so if their attachment proteins are bound or if they are part of an antibody-antigen complex.
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Key terms in this lesson
- pathogen
- A microorganism that causes disease.
- antigen
- A molecule, usually a protein, on the surface of a cell or pathogen that triggers an immune response.
- antibody
- A Y-shaped protein (immunoglobulin) produced by B plasma cells that binds specifically to a particular antigen.
- opsonin
- A protein, such as an antibody, that binds to a pathogen and tags it so that it is more easily recognised and engulfed by phagocytes.
More in Communicable Diseases
- Counting Blood Cells
- Cytokines
- Opsonins
- Antibodies
- Lymphocytes
- Cell-Mediated Immunity
- Humoral Immunity
- Auto-Immune Diseases
All 40 lessons in Communicable Diseases · All OCR AS-level Biology topics