Antibody
Contents
Key Stage 3
Meaning
An antibody is a chemical made by white blood cells that help fight infection.
Key Stage 4
Meaning
An antibody is a chemical made by lymphocytes that is used to fight pathogens.
About Antibodies
- Antibodies attach themselves to chemicals known as antigens which are proteins found on the surfaces of different pathogens or other cells.
- Some antibodies can directly damage or destroy a pathogen.
- Some antibodies attach themselves to pathogens to make it easier for phagocytes to engulf and destroy them. They act like tags to tell the phagocytes which cells to attack.
- When an organism is infected lymphocytes produce hundreds of different antibodies until one works.
- Once a lymphocyte has produce a working antibody it will remember and reproduce it any time the same pathogen infects the organism.
- If a patient's own antibodies are not able to get rid of a pathogen scientists can find and organism that makes antibodies that do work and copy them to be injected into the patient. These are called monoclonal antibodies.
References
AQA
- Antibodies, pages 130, 131, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Biology, CGP, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 136, 137, GCSE Biology, CGP, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 32, 46, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 36, 49, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 55, 86, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 1, Hodder, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 55, 87-8, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA'
- Antibodies, pages 93, 106-109, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA'
- Antibodies; monoclonal, pages 97-101, GCSE Biology, Hodder, AQA'
- Antibody, pages 116, 150-1, 158-9, 246, GCSE Biology; Student Book, Collins, AQA'
- Antibody; monoclonal (mAB), pages 158-9, 161, 179, GCSE Biology; Student Book, Collins, AQA'
Edexcel
- Antibodies, pages 114, 167, GCSE Biology, Pearson, Edexcel
- Antibodies, pages 165-167, 169-172, 263, GCSE Biology, CGP, Edexcel
- Antibodies, pages 41, 42, 61, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Antibodies, pages 58-61, 89, GCSE Biology; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Antibodies; monoclonal, pages 120-121, GCSE Biology, Pearson, Edexcel