Immunoglobulins (Ig)

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Original Editor - Lucinda hampton

Top Contributors - Kirsten Coutts, Lucinda hampton, Kim Jackson and Nupur Smit Shah  

Introduction

Immunoglobulins (Ig) or Antibodies

• Glycoproteins that your immune cells make to fight off bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, cellular antigens, chemicals, and synthetic substances.
• Are produced by plasma cells.
• B cells are instructed by specific immunogens, for, example, bacterial proteins, to differentiate into plasma cells, which are protein-making cells that participate in humoral immune responses.
• Immunoglobulins constitute about 20% of the protein in plasma
• They act as a critical part of the immune response by specifically recognizing and binding to particular antigens, such as bacteria or viruses, and aiding in their destruction.
• The antibody immune response is highly complex and exceedingly specific. The various immunoglobulin classes and subclasses (isotypes) differ in their biological features, structure, target specificity and distribution.
• The assessment of the immunoglobulin isotype can be matched to a specific pathogen thus can be used to diagnose some diseases based on their unique structure. Antibody tests are used to detect disease-specific antibodies in a blood sample..
• All antibodies are immunoglobulins but all immunoglobulins are not antibodies
• WHO officially coined termed the term Immunoglobulins for antibodies in 1964.

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