that's why haptens are called haptens and not antigens....
...haptens are too small to illicit an immune response...small organic
molecules or metals are too small to be recognised and therefore require a
carrier protein to bring about an adaptive response
....haptens cannot recruit T-cell help...but the addition of a
chemicaly-linked carrier protein allows the priming of T-cells with peptide
from the carrier
<Jenfromwcu at AOL.COM> wrote in message news:0.5fa1cde4.2564a927 at aol.com...
| Why do haptens need a carrier protein? Why can't they elicit and immune
| response themselves?
