抗体抗原实验

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) represents a simple and sensitive technique for specific quantitative detection of molecules to which an antibody is available (1,2). Although there are a huge number of variations based on the original ELISA principle, this chapter will f ...

The affinity and kinetics of antibody-antigen interactions are increasingly realized to be important parameters in determining the usefulness of antibodies in both in vivo and in vitro settings (1). As discussed in Chapter 1, the affinity of an antibody (given by the association or dissoci ...

Proteins can be separated according to their molecular sizes and charges, since these factors will determine the speed at which they will travel through a gel. The SDS-PAGE method involves the denaturation of proteins with the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the use of an electric cur ...

Murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) when administered to patients are perceived much as any other foreign antigen: an immune response is usually mounted against them, the result of which is the generation of human antimouse antibodies (HAMA). Even in the absence of such immunization some p ...

Flow cytometry, as the name suggests, is the analysis of cells (which carry one or more fluorescent labels) moving in a fluid flow (1,2). This technique has become widely used because of the enormous increase in the number and range of specificities of antibodies to cell determinants. Monoclonal and ...

The protocols in this chapter concern postembedding immunolabeling for transmission electron microscopy; other schedules, such as pre-embedding methods, frozen tissue processes, and procedures for scanning electron microscopy, can be found elsewhere (1). In principle, imm ...

To engineer or manipulate antibody or Fv-based molecules, isolation of the V region of the antibodies is necessary. A number of strategies can be adopted for amplification; one such approach is to use subgroup-specific oligonucleotides for the amplification of the V-region genes. Small di ...

Over the past few years, considerable effort has gone into genetic engineering and manipulation of antibody molecules. One consequence of this research has been the use of filamentous phage as a vehicle on which to display antibody fragments. It is possible to express a variety of molecules on the ...

Despite rapid advances in the diagnosis of bacterial infections and the availability of effective antibiotics, meningococcal disease continues to represent a substantial public health problem for most countries (1–4). Disease usually develops rapidly, is notoriously diffi ...

This chapter will describe the use of the immunoblotting method for analysing antibody specificities towards meningococcal antigens in sera from vaccinees, receiving group B meningococcal outer-membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines, or from patients, falling ill with meningococ ...

Meningococci are usually classified based on serological reactivity of their polysaccharide capsules with serogroups A, B, and C, currently the most common causes of disease. Serogroup A meningococci can cause massive outbreaks particularly in areas such as the African meningitis b ...

This chapter describes a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing assay conditions that ensure specificity of antibody binding and favor detection primarily of high-avidity serum IgG antibodies to meningococcal serogroup C polysaccharide (1). Antib ...

Neisseria meningitidis is an obligate human pathogen. When it interacts with the host, it can establish a commensal relationship or can, on a minority of occasions, invade and cause systemic disease. Protection against systemic disease, particularly for serogroup A and C infections, has b ...

Antibodies can protect against meningococcal infection by at least two mechanisms: complement-dependent serum bactericidal activity (SBA), and/ or opsonophagocytosis (OP), leading to destruction of the bacteria (1–4). Regarding group C meningococci, there seems to be a correla ...

T-cells recognize protein antigens as short peptide fragments (8–20 amino acids) bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on the surface of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). A prerequisite for antigen-specific T-cell activation is antigen uptake, enzymatic de ...

The majority of T cells recognize peptide epitopes bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-encoded glycoproteins on the surface of professional antigen-presenting cells (APC), principally dendritic cells, macrophages, and B cells (1–3). Most T cells are specific for pept ...

Throughout the 1990s, the incidence of meningococcal disease was higher in England and Wales than in most other European countries (1). In addition to the high incidence, the pattern of disease changed, with shifts to more cases caused by serogroup C strains, and more cases occurring in older teena ...

The evaluation of meningococcal vaccines in humans is a challenging task. Issues of safety, and benefit to the individual patient and to the community may raise difficult ethical problems. The inherent variability of human responses, the rarity of clinical disease, age-dependence in the i ...

Meningococcus is an aerobic, fastidious, Gram-negative diplococcus that is found only in humans. Its cell wall has a cytoplasmic membrane, a peptidoglycan layer, and an outer membrane. Meningococci isolated from the bloodstream or the spinal fluid are almost always encapsulated. The ca ...

For the most part, the relationship between the pathogen, Neisseria meningitidis, and humans is uneventful. Colonization of the human nasopharynx at various times during life is an almost universal experience but clinically overt disease is unusual except during epidemics. This ove ...