epitope
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: - The specific site on the surface of an antigen molecule to which an antibody attaches itself. An epitope is the precise molecular structure recognized and bound by an antibody or a receptor on a lymphocyte. It is also known as an antigenic determinant.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The vaccine was designed to target a specific epitope on the virus's spike protein.
- Researchers are mapping the epitopes of the antigen to develop more effective diagnostics.
- A single antigen can have multiple different epitopes.
Advanced Usage
- "Conformational epitope": An epitope formed by a specific three-dimensional arrangement of amino acids from different parts of a protein chain that come together on the antigen's surface.
- The antibody recognizes a conformational epitope that is lost if the protein is denatured.
- "Linear epitope": An epitope consisting of a continuous sequence of amino acids in a protein's primary structure.
- Linear epitopes are often identified using peptide synthesis techniques.
Variants and Related Words
- Antigenic determinant: A synonym for epitope.
- Paratope: The specific part of an antibody that binds to the epitope.
- Epitope mapping: (noun phrase) The process of identifying the location and structure of epitopes on an antigen.
Synonyms
- Antigenic determinant: The site on an antigen to which an antibody binds.
- Antigenic site: A general term for a region on an antigen involved in immune recognition.
Related Phrases and Concepts
- Epitope spreading: (noun phrase) A phenomenon where the immune response expands to target epitopes other than the original one.
- Epitope spreading can complicate autoimmune diseases.
- B-cell epitope: An epitope recognized by B-cell antibodies.
- T-cell epitope: An epitope presented by MHC molecules and recognized by T-cell receptors.
Noun
- the site on the surface of an antigen molecule to which an antibody attaches itself