Specificity
of Antigen-Binding Sites
1. it is the sequence of amino acids in the
idiotype that determines
whether or not the antigen (epitope) will bind with antibody (idiotype)
2. if there is specificity between Ag and Ab
they are said to be complementary to each other
3. cross-reactivity is when specific antibodies
react with:
Utwo
dissimilar antigens that share common epitopes
Uepitopes with
structural similarities to epitope that initially stimulated the immune response
Uantigens from
other species (heterophil Ag=s & Ab=s)
i.e.Ab=s to Rickettsia rickettsia agglutinate Proteus vulgaris
