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MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY MOBILE  -  IMMUNOLOGY CHAPTER SEVEN

IMMUNOGLOBULINS- ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY REACTIONS AND SELECTED TESTS 
 

I. NATURE OF ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY REACTIONS

A. Lock and Key Concept
The combining site of an antibody is located in the Fab portion of the molecule and is constructed from the hypervariable regions of the heavy and light chains. X-Ray crystallography studies of antigen-antibody interactions show that the antigenic determinant nestles in a cleft formed by the combining site of the antibody as illustrated in Figure 1. Thus, our concept of antigen-antibody reactions is one of a key (i.e. the antigen) which fits into a lock (i.e. the antibody).

B. Non-covalent Bonds
The bonds that hold the antigen to the antibody combining site are all non-covalent in nature. These include hydrogen bonds, electrostatic bonds, Van der Waals forces and hydrophobic bonds. Multiple bonding between the antigen and the antibody ensures that the antigen will be bound tightly to the antibody.

C. Reversibility
Since antigen-antibody reactions occur via non-covalent bonds, they are by their nature reversible.
 

II. AFFINITY AND AVIDITY

A. Affinity
Antibody affinity is the strength of the reaction between a single antigenic determinant and a single combining site on the antibody. It is the sum of the attractive and repulsive forces operating between the antigenic determinant and the combining site of the antibody as illustrated in Figure 2.
Affinity is the equilibrium constant that describes the antigen-antibody reaction as illustrated in Figure 3. Most antibodies have a high affinity for their antigens.

B. Avidity
Avidity is a measure of the overall strength of binding of an antigen with many antigenic determinants and multivalent antibodies. Avidity is influenced by both the valence of the antibody and the valence of the antigen. Avidity is more than the sum of the individual affinities. This is illustrated in Figure 4.
To repeat, affinity refers to the strength of binding between a single antigenic determinant and an individual antibody combining site whereas avidity refers to the overall strength of binding between multivalent antigens and antibodies.

III. SPECIFICITY AND CROSS REACTIVITY

A. Specificity
Specificity refers to the ability of an individual antibody combining site to react with only one antigenic determinant or the ability of a population of antibody molecules to react with only one antigen. In general, there is a high degree of specificity in antigen-antibody reactions. Antibodies can distinguish differences in 1) the primary structure of an antigen, 2) isomeric forms of an antigen, and 3) secondary and tertiary structure of an antigen.

B. Cross reactivity
Cross reactivity refers to the ability of an individual antibody combining site to react with more than one antigenic determinant or the ability of a population of antibody molecules to react with more than one antigen. Figure 5 illustrates how cross reactions can arise. Cross reactions arise because the cross reacting antigen shares an epitope in common with the immunizing antigen or because it has an epitope which is structurally similar to one on the immunizing antigen (multispecificity).
 

IV. TESTS FOR ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY REACTIONS

A. Factors affecting measurement of antigen-antibody reactions
The only way that one knows that an antigen-antibody reaction has occurred is to have some means of directly or indirectly detecting the complexes formed between the antigen and antibody. The ease with which one can detect antigen-antibody reactions will depend on a number of factors.

1. Affinity
The higher the affinity of the antibody for the antigen, the more stable will be the interaction. Thus, the ease with which one can detect the interaction is enhanced.

2. Avidity
Reactions between multivalent antigens and multivalent antibodies are more stable and thus easier to detect.

3. Antigen to antibody ratio
The ratio between the antigen and antibody influences the detection of antigen-antibody complexes because the size of the complexes formed is related to the concentration of the antigen and antibody. This is depicted in Figure 6.

4. Physical form of the antigen
The physical form of the antigen influences how one detects its reaction with an antibody. If the antigen is a particulate, one generally looks for agglutination of the antigen by the antibody. If the antigen is soluble one generally looks for the precipitation of the antigen after the production of large insoluble antigen-antibody complexes.
 

B. Agglutination Tests

1. Agglutination/Hemagglutination
When the antigen is particulate, the reaction of an antibody with the antigen can be detected by agglutination (clumping) of the antigen. The general term agglutinin is used to describe antibodies that agglutinate particulate antigens. When the antigen is an erythrocyte the term hemagglutination is used. All antibodies can theoretically agglutinate particulate antigens but IgM, due to its high valence, is particularly good agglutinin and one sometimes infers that an antibody may be of the IgM class if it is a good agglutinating antibody.

a. Qualitative agglutination test
Agglutination tests can be used in a qualitative manner to assay for the presence of an antigen or an antibody. The antibody is mixed with the particulate antigen and a positive test is indicated by the agglutination of the particulate antigen. (Figure 7).
For example, a patient's red blood cells can be mixed with antibody to a blood group antigen to determine a person's blood type. In a second example, a patient's serum is mixed with red blood cells of a known blood type to assay for the presence of antibodies to that blood type in the patient's serum.

b. Quantitative agglutination test
Agglutination tests can also be used to measure the level of antibodies to particulate antigens. In this test, serial dilutions are made of a sample to be tested for antibody and then a fixed number of red blood cells or bacteria or other such particulate antigen is added. Then the maximum dilution that gives agglutination is determined. The maximum dilution that gives visible agglutination is called the titer. The results are reported as the reciprocal of the maximal dilution that gives visible agglutination. Figure 8 illustrates a quantitative hemagglutination test.

Prozone effect - Occasionally, it is observed that when the concentration of antibody is high (i.e. lower dilutions), there is no agglutination and then, as the sample is diluted, agglutination occurs (See Patient 6 in Figure 8). The lack of agglutination at high concentrations of antibodies is called the prozone effect. Lack of agglutination in the prozone is due to antibody excess resulting in very small complexes that do not clump to form visible agglutination.

c. Applications of agglutination tests

i. Determination of blood types or antibodies to blood group antigens.
ii. To assess bacterial infections
e.g. A rise in titer of an antibody to a particular bacterium indicates an infection with that bacterial type. N.B. a fourfold rise in titer is generally taken as a significant rise in antibody titer.

d. Practical considerations
Although the test is easy to perform, it is only semi-quantitative.
 

2. Passive hemagglutination
The agglutination test only works with particulate antigens. However, it is possible to coat erythrocytes with a soluble antigen (e.g. viral antigen, a polysaccharide or a hapten) and use the coated red blood cells in an agglutination test for antibody to the soluble antigen (Figure 9). This is called passive hemagglutination. The test is performed just like the agglutination test. Applications include detection of antibodies to soluble antigens and detection of antibodies to viral antigens.

3. Coomb's Test (Antiglobulin Test)

a. Direct Coomb's Test
When antibodies bind to erythrocytes, they do not always result in agglutination. This can result from the antigen/antibody ratio being in antigen excess or antibody excess or in some cases electrical charges on the red blood cells preventing the effective cross linking of the cells. These antibodies that bind to but do not cause agglutination of red blood cells are sometimes referred to as incomplete antibodies. In no way is this meant to indicate that the antibodies are different in their structure, although this was once thought to be the case. Rather, it is a functional definition only. In order to detect the presence of non-agglutinating antibodies on red blood cells, one simply adds a second antibody directed against the immunoglobulin (antibody) coating the red cells. This anti-immunoglobulin can now cross link the red blood cells and result in agglutination. This test is illustrated in Figure 10 and is known as the Direct Coomb's test.

b. Indirect Coomb's Test
If it is necessary to know whether a serum sample has antibodies directed against a particular red blood cell and you want to be sure that you also detect potential non- agglutinating antibodies in the sample, an Indirect Coomb's test is performed (Figure 11). This test is done by incubating the red blood cells with the serum sample, washing out any unbound antibodies and then adding a second anti-immunoglobulin reagent to cross link the cells.

c. Applications
These include detection of anti-rhesus factor (Rh) antibodies. Antibodies to the Rh factor generally do not agglutinate red blood cells. Thus, red cells from Rh+ children born to Rh- mothers, who have anti-Rh antibodies, may be coated with these antibodies. To check for this, a direct Coombs test is performed. To see if the mother has anti-Rh antibodies in her serum an Indirect Coombs test is performed. 

4. Hemagglutination Inhibition
The agglutination test can be modified to be used for the measurement of soluble antigens. This test is called hemagglutination inhibition. It is called hemagglutination inhibition because one measures the ability of soluble antigen to inhibit the agglutination of antigen-coated red blood cells by antibodies. In this test, a fixed amount of antibodies to the antigen in question is mixed with a fixed amount of red blood cells coated with the antigen (see passive hemagglutination above). Also included in the mixture are different amounts of the sample to be analyzed for the presence of the antigen. If the sample contains the antigen, the soluble antigen will compete with the antigen coated on the red blood cells for binding to the antibodies, thereby inhibiting the agglutination of the red blood cells. as illustrated in Figure 12.

By serially diluting the sample, you can quantitate the amount of antigen in your unknown sample by its titer. This test is generally used to quantitate soluble antigens and is subject to the same practical considerations as the agglutination test.
 

C. Precipitation tests

1. Radial Immunodiffusion (Mancini)
In radial immunodiffusion antibody is incorporated into the agar gel as it is poured and different dilutions of the antigen are placed in holes punched into the agar. As the antigen diffuses into the gel, it reacts with the antibody and when the equivalence point is reached a ring of precipitation is formed as illustrated in Figure 13.

The diameter of the ring is proportional to the log of the concentration of antigen since the amount of antibody is constant. Thus, by running different concentrations of a standard antigen one can generate a standard cure from which one can quantitate the amount of an antigen in an unknown sample. Thus, this is a quantitative test. If more than one ring appears in the test, more than one antigen/antibody reaction has occurred. This could be due to a mixture of antigens or antibodies. This test is commonly used in the clinical laboratory for the determination of immunoglobulin levels in patient samples.
 

2. Immunoelectrophoresis
In immunoelectrophoresis, a complex mixture of antigens is placed in a well punched out of an agar gel and the antigens are electrophoresed so that the antigen are separated according to their charge. After electrophoresis, a trough is cut in the gel and antibodies are added. As the antibodies diffuse into the agar, precipitin lines are produced in the equivalence zone when an antigen/antibody reaction occurs as illustrated in Figure 14.
This tests is used for the qualitative analysis of complex mixtures of antigens, although a crude measure of quantity (thickness of the line) can be obtained. This test is commonly used for the analysis of components in a patient' serum. Serum is placed in the well and antibody to whole serum in the trough. By comparisons to normal serum, one can determine whether there are deficiencies on one or more serum components or whether there is an overabundance of some serum component (thickness of the line). This test can also be used to evaluate purity of isolated serum proteins.
 

3. Countercurrent electrophoresis
In this test the antigen and antibody are placed in wells punched out of an agar gel and the antigen and antibody are electrophoresed into each other where they form a precipitation line as illustrated in Figure 15. This test only works if conditions can be found where the antigen and antibody have opposite charges. This test is primarily qualitative, although from the thickness of the band you can get some measure of quantity. Its major advantage is its speed.

D. Radioimmunoassay (RIA)/Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

Radioimmunoassays (RIA) are assays that are based on the measurement of radioactivity associated with immune complexes. In any particular test, the label may be on either the antigen or the antibody. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA) are those that are based on the measurement of an enzymatic reaction associated with immune complexes. In any particular assay, the enzyme may be linked to either the antigen or the antibody.

1. Competitive RIA/ELISA for Ag Detection
The method and principle of RIA and ELISA for the measurement of antigen is shown in Figure 16. By using known amounts of a standard unlabeled antigen, one can generate a standard curve relating radioactivity (cpm) (Enzyme) bound versus amount of antigen. From this standard curve, one can determine the amount of an antigen in an unknown sample.
The key to the assay is the separation of the immune complexes from the remainder of the components. This has been accomplished in many different ways and serves as the basis for the names given to the assay:

a. Precipitation with ammonium sulphate
Ammonium sulphate (33 - 50% final concentration) will precipitate immunoglobulins but not many antigens. Thus, this can be used to separate the immune complexes from free antigen. This has been called the Farr Technique

b. Anti-immunoglobulin antibody
The addition of a second antibody directed against the first antibody can result in the precipitation of the immune complexes and thus the separation of the complexes from free antigen.

c. Immobilization of the Antibody
The antibody can be immobilized onto the surface of a plastic bead or coated onto the surface of a plastic plate and thus the immune complexes can easily be separated from the other components by simply washing the beads or plate (Figure 17). This is the most common method used today and is referred to as Solid phase RIA or ELISA. In the clinical laboratory, competitive RIA and ELISA are commonly used to quantitate serum proteins, hormones, drugs metabolites.
 

2. Noncompetitive RIA/ELISA for Ag or Ab
Noncompetitive RIA and ELISAs are also used for the measurement of antigens and antibodies. In Figure 18, the bead is coated with the antigen and is used for the detection of antibody in the unknown sample. The amount of labeled second antibody bound is related to the amount of antibody in the unknown sample. This assay is commonly employed for the measurement of antibodies of the IgE class directed against particular allergens by using a known allergen as antigen and anti-IgE antibodies as the labeled reagent. It is called the RAST test (radioallergosorbent test). In Figure 19, the bead is coated with antibody and is used to measure an unknown antigen. The amount of labeled second antibody that binds is proportional to the amount of antigen that bound to the first antibody.

E. Tests for Cell Associated Antigens

1. Immunofluorescence
Immunofluorescence is a technique whereby an antibody labeled with a fluorescent molecule (fluorescein or rhodamine or one of many other fluorescent dyes) is used to detect the presence of an antigen in or on a cell or tissue by the fluorescence emitted by the bound antibody.

a. Direct Immunofluorescence
In direct immunofluorescence, the antibody specific to the antigen is directly tagged with the fluorochrome (Figure 20).

b. Indirect Immunofluorescence
In indirect immunofluorescence, the antibody specific for the antigen is unlabeled and a second anti-immunoglobulin antibody directed toward the first antibody is tagged with the fluorochrome (Figure 21). Indirect fluorescence is more sensitive than direct immunofluorescence since there is amplification of the signal.

c. Flow Cytometry
Flow cytometry is commonly used in the clinical laboratory to identify and enumerate cells bearing a particular antigen. Cells in suspension are labeled with a fluorescent tag by either direct or indirect immunofluorescence. The cells are then analyzed on the flow cytometer.

Figure 22 illustrates the principle of flow cytometry. In a flow cytometer, the cells exit a flow cell and are illuminated with a laser beam. The amount of laser light that is scattered off the cells as they passes through the laser can be measured, which gives information concerning the size of the cells. In addition, the laser can excite the fluorochrome on the cells and the fluorescent light emitted by the cells can be measured by one or more detectors.

The type of data that is obtained from the flow cytometer is shown in Figure 23. In a one parameter histogram, increasing amount of fluorescence (e.g. green fluorescence) is plotted on the x axis and the number of cells exhibiting that amount of fluorescence is plotted on the y axis. The fraction of cells that are fluorescent can be determined by integrating the area under the curve. In a two parameter histogram, the x axis is one parameter (e.g. red fluorescence) and the y axis is the second parameter (e.g. green fluorescence). The number of cells is indicated by the contour and the intensity of the color.

F. Complement Fixation

Antigen/antibody complexes can also be measured by their ability to fix complement because an antigen/antibody complex will "consume" complement if it is present, whereas free antigens or antibodies do not. Tests for antigen/antibody complexes that rely on the consumption of complement are termed complement fixation tests and are used to quantitate antigen/antibody reactions. This test will only work with complement fixing antibodies (IgG and IgM are best).
The principle of the complement fixation test is illustrated in Figure 24. Antigen is mixed with the test serum to be assayed for antibody and antigen/antibody complexes are allowed to form. A control tube in which no antigen is added is also prepared. If no antigen/antibody complexes are present in the tube, none of the complement will be fixed. However, if antigen/antibody complexes are present, they will fix complement and thereby reduce the amount of complement in the tube. After allowing complement fixation by any antigen/antibody complexes, a standard amount of red blood cells, which have been pre-coated with anti-erythrocyte antibodies is added. The amount of antibody-coated red blood cells is predetermined to be just enough to completely use up all the complement initially added, if it were still there. If all the complement was still present (i.e. no antigen/antibody complexes formed between the antigen and antibody in question), all the red cells will be lysed. If antigen/antibody complexes are formed between the antigen and antibody in question, some of the complement will be consumed and, thus, when the antibody-coated red cells are added not all of them will lyse. By simply measuring the amount of red cell lysis by measuring the release of hemoglobin into the medium, one can indirectly quantitate antigen/antibody complexes in the tube. Complement fixation tests are most commonly used to assay for antibody in a test sample but they can be modified to measure antigen.
 

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