Antibodies

[IlyaR]

Would antibodies stay present indefinitely in the blood serum? I ran into a question which asks whether a test for antibodies towards a specific antigenic bacteria would be a good indicator if it is present in the patient.

I was under the impression that once the bacterial infection subsides, the antibodies are broken down. They have B memory cells which can proliferate in case of a second attack, but the actual antibodies will not be there some time due to degradation.

Is this not correct?

thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Missorleans]

Would antibodies stay present indefinitely in the blood serum? I ran into a question which asks whether a test for antibodies towards a specific antigenic bacteria would be a good indicator if it is present in the patient.

I was under the impression that once the bacterial infection subsides, the antibodies are broken down. They have B memory cells which can proliferate in case of a second attack, but the actual antibodies will not be there some time due to degradation.

Is this not correct?

thanks!

IgM would indicate a recent infection, IgG...not helpful.

 

[IlyaR]

IgM would indicate a recent infection, IgG...not helpful.

Hmm. Appreciate the response, but this is somewhat out of my scope. Don't think any of my textbooks covered IgM or IgG. Would you mind elaborating?

 

[sakabato93]

http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit5/humoral/5classes/5classes.html

In my opinion, knowing the subclasses of antibody is a little out of the scope of what needs to be known. That being said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being familiar with the terminology and such. I can easily see a passage presenting information similar to what's on this website.

 

[IlyaR]

http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit5/humoral/5classes/5classes.html

In my opinion, knowing the subclasses of antibody is a little out of the scope of what needs to be known. That being said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being familiar with the terminology and such. I can easily see a passage presenting information similar to what's on this website.

Thank you, I skimmed it but I'm still not seeing any answers pertinent to my original question: Do antibodies to antigens eventually leave your body? The answer to the problem I ran into made it seem that they do not

 

[sshah92]

Yes, they're broken down. They usually bind to the antigens and signal for phagocytes/killer T cells. The ones left over are degraded while memory B cells will persist for several years in case the infection comes up again

 

[Arayh]

IgG has a serum half life of 18-25 days, IgM and and IgA are 5 days, IgE is 3 days and IgD is 2.5 days, however there are low levels of antibodies left inside the blood after some types of infections. Furthermore, memory cells have extremely long lives and express surface Ig specific for antigens, which may also contribute to low levels of antibodies inside the blood.

Antibodies are just secreted immunoglobulins. Each specific memory cell will have specific antibodies on its surface that bind to target antigens.

 

[sakabato93]

IgG has a serum half life of 18-25 days, IgM and and IgA are 5 days, IgE is 3 days and IgD is 2.5 days, however there are low levels of antibodies left inside the blood after some types of infections. Furthermore, memory cells have extremely long lives and express surface Ig specific for antigens, which may also contribute to low levels of antibodies inside the blood.

Antibodies are just secreted immunoglobulins. Each specific memory cell will have specific antibodies on its surface that bind to target antigens.

Yeah, this is what I was getting at with that link.

"I ran into a question which asks whether a test for antibodies towards a specific antigenic bacteria would be a good indicator if it is present in the patient."

The question is vague. Are you testing whether the bacteria is present? If so, then yes. If the bacteria is proliferating in the blood stream, B cells are going to constantly secrete the appropriate antibodies.

 

[sakabato93]

Thank you, I skimmed it but I'm still not seeing any answers pertinent to my original question: Do antibodies to antigens eventually leave your body? The answer to the problem I ran into made it seem that they do not

What was the question? The antibodies may not seem like they are being degraded when there is a persistent infection because they are continually secreted until the pathogen/antigen is gone.