Immunological implications of structural mimicry between a dodecapeptide and a carbohydrate moiety

The immunogenicity and antibody cross-reactivity of two chemically different but structurally equivalent molecular mimics were analyzed by presenting them to the immune system in different modes. The observed differences in IgM and IgG responses in terms of cross-reactivity with the mimicking antigen could reflect the differential proliferative abilities of the corresponding B-cells. Modification of the T-cell help, either by using a promiscuous T-cell epitope or by prepriming, led to the shift in the antibody response towards the mimicking epitope. Also, the anti-sugar antibodies could be boosted using a carbohydrate mimicking peptide on cross-immunization. Thus, the carbohydrate-peptide mimicry appears to be a topological quasi-equivalence reflected differently in terms of antibody response during maturation.