Immunogenic
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Immunogenicity is the ability of a particular substance, which is called the antigen, to provoke an immune response.

• Adaptive immune system
• Immunostimulator

Immunogenicity

The ability to induce humoral and/or cell-mediated immune responses

The ability of antigen to elicit immune response is called “Immunogenicity”.

Antigens that do provoke the immune response are called-”immunogens”

Immunogenic potency of antigens

Proteins>>>Polysaccharides

Lipids, nucleic acids serve as immunogens only when they are in combination with proteins/polysaccharides.

-For studies of humoral immune response – proteins/ polysaccharides are used

-For cell-mediated immunity – only proteins serve as immunogens

Factors influencing immunogenicity

->Contribution of antigen to immunogenicity

->Contribution of biological system to immunogenicity

Antigens and immunogenicity

see the diagram

Immunogenicity is influenced by multiple characteristics of an antigen:

-Foreignness: Phylogenetic distance

-Molecular size

-Epitope density

-Chemical composition and heterogeneity

Protein structure, aa-polymers, Glu-Lys, Tyr, Phe

-Degradability (ability to be processed & presented to T cells)

D-amino acids

References

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