On Thu, 20 May 1999 17:58:00 +0900, Greg Adams <gp_adams at fccc.edu> wrote:
>Antibodies that react to the antigen binding domain (CDRs) of another
>antibody are typically called anti-idiotype antibodies. This occurs
>naturally in people and a chain reaction type of effect can occur with
>the antibody (#2) that binds to the antigen binding domain of the first
>antibody (#1), mimicing the original antigen target of the first
>antibody. The second antibody then can actually initiate an immune
>response that will recognize the original antigen. Similar strategies
>are being employed in clinical trials to try to stimulate patients to
>mount an immune response to tumor antigens.
Thank you for your reply. What you are stating is very important, however
how would you explain the mechanism of anti-D prophylaxis applied to Rhesus (-)
mother having a Rh(+) child ?
In that case, the antigen (Rh) is hidden from the immune system by the antibody, to force
the absence of production of further Anti-D by the mother and not at all to induce
a much stronger immune response...
Furthermore, I went through some papers in which they show that they can't detect
simple IgG dimers in a single patient. Is this a matter of level of detection, I don't
know ...what are the evidences for anti-idiotypes in a single person ?
nony at club-internet.fr
