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Diversity of Antigen Receptors

Diversity of Antigen Receptors

Antigen receptors are essential components of the immune system crucial in defending the body against foreign invaders. These receptors are present on the surface of B and T cells, enabling them to recognize antigens and mount an appropriate immune response.
Before encountering any antigen, lymphocytes express these receptors. On B cells, the antigen receptor is a membrane-bound antibody molecule called BCR; on T cells, it is a T cell receptor or TCR. B and T cell receptors are composed of two...

Cross-reactivity

Cross-reactivity

Affinity and Avidity

Affinity and Avidity

Epistasis

Epistasis

In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...

Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity

Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity

An antigen is any substance the immune system identifies as foreign and potentially harmful to the body, prompting an immune response. Antigens have two functional properties: immunogenicity and reactivity. Immunogenicity is the ability of an antigen to stimulate a specific immune response. At the same time, reactivity describes the antigen's ability to react with the cells and antibodies produced in response to it.
Complete Antigens
Complete antigens possess both immunogenicity and reactivity.

Antigen Processing Pathways

Antigen Processing Pathways

MHC molecules are key players in the immune response, enabling T cells to recognize and respond to specific antigens. They are present on the surface of all nucleated cells in the body and are instrumental in presenting antigens to T cells and activating them. T cells recognize the MHC-antigen complex and initiate an immune response. MHC class I and MHC class II are two main types of MHC molecules, each associated with a distinct antigen processing pathway.
MHC Class I: Presenting Endogenous...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A High Throughput MHC II Binding Assay for Quantitative Analysis of Peptide Epitopes

A High Throughput MHC II Binding Assay for Quantitative Analysis of Peptide Epitopes

Published on: March 25, 2014

The evolution of epitype.

Richard B Meagher¹

¹Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. meagher@uga.edu

|June 17, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Epigenetic types (epitypes) and their traits may evolve through gene duplication and divergence, similar to genetic evolution. Evidence suggests conserved epigenetic patterns support this, but further research is needed.

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Published on: March 24, 2017

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Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A High Throughput MHC II Binding Assay for Quantitative Analysis of Peptide Epitopes

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Published on: March 25, 2014

Peptide Scanning-assisted Identification of a Monoclonal Antibody-recognized Linear B-cell Epitope

Peptide Scanning-assisted Identification of a Monoclonal Antibody-recognized Linear B-cell Epitope

Published on: March 24, 2017

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Epigenetics
Genomics

Background:

Epigenetic variation, or epitype, is influenced by chromatin structure.
Existing models explain genotype evolution via gene duplication, divergence, and subfunctionalization.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the hypothesis that epitypes and phenotypes evolve through gene duplication, divergence, and subfunctionalization.
To examine the relationship between epigenetic control, phenotype, and evolutionary processes.

Main Methods:

Review of phylogenetic evidence for epitype evolution from ancestral genes.
Analysis of conserved patterns in nucleosome phasing, DNA methylation, and H2AZ deposition.
Examination of histone modification patterns in recent segmental chromosome duplications.

Main Results:

Conserved epigenetic patterns in plants and animals suggest epitype inheritance following gene duplication.
Histone modification patterns are not consistently conserved in recent segmental chromosome duplications.

Conclusions:

The hypothesis that epitypes evolve via gene duplication, divergence, and subfunctionalization is supported by initial evidence.
Further experimental investigation is required to confirm the link between gene phylogeny, epitype evolution, and epigenetically determined phenotypes.