Antibody

Antibody
Antibody An"ti*bod`y ([a^]n"t[i^]*b[o^]d`[y^]), n. 1. (Med., Physiol. Chem.) Any of various bodies or substances in the blood which act in antagonism to harmful foreign bodies, as toxins or the bacteria producing the toxins. Normal blood serum apparently contains various antibodies, and the introduction of toxins or of foreign cells also stimulates production of their specific antibodies by the immune system.

Note: In certain ``autoimmune'' diseases, the immune system of an organism may produce antibodies to parts of the organism's own structure, and can cause considerable damage and even death as a result. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

2. (Med., Physiol. Chem.) more narrowly, any of the immunoglobulins present in the blood serum or other body fluids of an animal, which reacts with a specific antigenic substance, whether the antibody was produced as a consequence of the stimulus provided by the antigen, or was pre-existing prior to exposure of the organism to the antigen.

Note: The soluble antibodies present in serum are complex globins (proteins) with both constant and variable regions in the polypeptide chains, the variable region being responsible for the reaction of the antibody with its specific antigen. Typically, antibodies of more than one structure may react with a given antigen, and any given antigen may stimulate production of more than one antibody. Methods have been developed to grow cells in tissue culture which produce predominantly only one specific antibody, and such antibodies thus produced (called {monoclonal antibodies}) are highly specific in their reactions to molecular strucures, and are used as valuable reagents in biochemical technology. [PJC.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • antibody — antibody. См. антитело. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • antibody — (n.) substance developed in blood as an antitoxin, 1901, a hybrid formed from ANTI (Cf. anti ) against + BODY (Cf. body). Probably a translation of Ger. Antikörper, condensed from a phrase such as anti toxisches Körper anti toxic body …   Etymology dictionary

  • antibody — ► NOUN (pl. antibodies) ▪ a protein produced in the blood to counteract an antigen …   English terms dictionary

  • antibody — ☆ antibody [an′ti bäd΄ē, an′təbäd΄ē ] n. pl. antibodies a specialized protein produced by certain lymphocytes, esp. in response to the presence of an antigen, to neutralize, thus creating immunity to, specific antigens; immunoglobulin …   English World dictionary

  • Antibody — Immunoglobulin redirects here. For the immunoglobulin family, see Immunoglobulin superfamily. Antibodies redirects here. For the film, see Antibodies (film). Each antibody binds to a specific antigen; an interaction similar to a lock and key. An… …   Wikipedia

  • antibody — /an ti bod ee/, n., pl. antibodies. 1. any of numerous Y shaped protein molecules produced by B cells as a primary immune defense, each molecule and its clones having a unique binding site that can combine with the complementary site of a foreign …   Universalium

  • antibody — Abbreviation: Ab An immunological protein produced by the lymphocytes in response to contact with an antigen. Each antibody recognizes just one antigenic determinant of one antigen and acts by specifically binding to it, thus rendering it… …   Glossary of Biotechnology

  • antibody — noun Antibody is used before these nouns: ↑production, ↑response Antibody is used after these nouns: ↑HIV …   Collocations dictionary

  • antibody */ — UK [ˈæntɪˌbɒdɪ] / US [ˈæntɪˌbɑdɪ] noun [countable] Word forms antibody : singular antibody plural antibodies medical a substance that your body produces in your blood to fight illnesses and infections. Antibodies are an important part of the… …   English dictionary

  • antibody — Synonyms and related words: Rh factor, Rh negative, Rh positive, Rh type, Rhesus factor, acquired immunity, active immunity, agglutinin, allergen, anaphylactin, antiantibody, antigen, antiserum, antitoxic serum, antitoxin, antivenin, arterial… …   Moby Thesaurus

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