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Diversity of Antigen Receptors

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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...

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Antibody Structure

Antibody Structure

Overview
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), are essential players of the adaptive immune system. These antigen-binding proteins are produced by B cells and make up 20 percent of the total blood plasma by weight. In mammals, antibodies fall into five different classes, which each elicits a different biological response upon antigen binding.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Identification of Mouse and Human Antibody Repertoires by Next-Generation Sequencing

Identification of Mouse and Human Antibody Repertoires by Next-Generation Sequencing

Published on: March 15, 2019

Untangling associations between immunoglobulin genotypes, repertoires and function.

Xaquin Castro Dopico¹, Marco Mandolesi¹, Gunilla B Karlsson Hedestam¹

¹Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden.

Immunology Letters

|May 20, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Understanding immunoglobulin (IG) gene diversity is key to deciphering antibody (Ab) functions and immune responses. Genetic variations in IG genes impact host traits and disease susceptibility, requiring new analytical tools.

Keywords:

Antibody profiling Antibody repertoires B cells Genotype-function Immunoglobulin germline genes

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Last Updated: Jul 29, 2025

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Published on: March 15, 2019

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Area of Science:

Immunology
Genetics

Background:

Immunoglobulin (IG) genes encode B cell receptors (BCRs), crucial for the mammalian immune system's recognition of diverse antigens.
BCRs are generated via combinatorial recombination of polymorphic germline genes, creating a vast repertoire for pathogen response and commensal regulation.
B cell activation leads to memory and plasma cells, enabling anamnestic antibody (Ab) responses.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore how inherited variation in IG genes influences host traits, disease susceptibility, and antibody recall responses.
To translate emerging knowledge of IG genetic diversity and expressed repertoires into understanding Ab function in health and disease.
To highlight the need for tools to analyze IG gene/allele usage for population-level antibody response insights.

Main Methods:

Review and synthesis of current knowledge on IG gene genetics and repertoire analysis.
Conceptual framework for translating genetic diversity data into functional understanding of antibody responses.
Discussion of the necessity for computational and analytical tools.

Main Results:

Inherited variation in IG genes significantly impacts host traits and disease susceptibility.
Understanding IG genetic diversity is crucial for interpreting antibody function and immune memory.
Emerging knowledge necessitates advanced tools for analyzing IG gene usage in diverse populations.

Conclusions:

Deciphering IG gene and allele usage preferences is essential for understanding population-level antibody responses.
Translating IG genetic diversity insights can improve comprehension of Ab function in health and disease etiology.
Further development of analytical tools is required to fully leverage IG genetic knowledge.