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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

A Method to Assess Fc-mediated Effector Functions Induced by Influenza Hemagglutinin Specific Antibodies
Published on: February 23, 2018
Dependence of antibody-mediated presentation of antigen on FcRn
Shuo-Wang Qiao1, Kanna Kobayashi, Finn-Eirik Johansen
1Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
The neonatal Fc receptor for IgG (FcRn) is a distant member of the MHC class I protein family. It binds IgG and albumin in a pH-dependent manner and protects these from catabolism by diverting them from a degradative fate in lysosomes. In addition, FcRn-mediated IgG transport across epithelial barriers is responsible for the transmission of IgG from mother to infant and can also enhance IgG-mediated antigen uptake across mucosal epithelia. We now show a previously undescribed role for FcRn in mediating the presentation of antigens by dendritic cells when antigens are present as a complex with antibody by uniquely directing multimeric immune complexes, but not monomeric IgG, to lysosomes.
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