Idiotypes are unique amino acids in antibodies that determine their specificity. They can be exploited in vaccine production and studied to understand antibody function. Antibodies can also be classified by allotype and isotype. Idiotypes are highly specific and can be sequenced in a lab. Variations in idiotype may explain why people have antibodies to some strains of disease but not others.
An idiotype is a set of amino acids that are unique to an antibody and which determine its specificity, in other words, which antigens it will bind to. Studying idiotypes is important for immunologists who need to understand how the body makes and uses antibodies. Idiotypes can be exploited in vaccine production to cause a patient to start producing appropriate antibodies and provide protection against certain antigens. It is possible to sequence these amino acids in a laboratory setting.
These structures are often located at or near the antigen binding site on a part of the antibody known as the complementarity determining region (CDR) or hypervariable region. A single antibody can have multiple idiotypes. Idiotype is extremely specific, so much so that humans can sometimes react to their own idiotypes and certainly will react to those introduced by other people or species. When this is done deliberately with a vaccine, it can stimulate the immune system into producing antibodies to resist infectious disease.
This is a method of classifying antibodies. On a slightly broader level, antibodies can be classified by allotype, genetic variations in antibody structure that may reflect genetic makeup. Closely related people tend to have similar allotypes but can react against allotypes produced in the bodies of people who are not related. This can be a problem with procedures, such as blood transfusions, where antibody matching is critical to preventing adverse reactions.
Even more generally, antibodies can be classified by isotype, a feature observed in all members of the same species. Immunoglobulin M, for example, is a human isotype, a protein found in every person except those who have a genetic disorder that compromises immune function. Progressive classification of antibodies can aid researchers in studying antibodies and their functions.
The idiotype is highly unique; only antibodies with identical specificity will have the same idiotype, but antibodies with different specificities can have the same isotypes and allotypes. Researchers can use lab tests to identify particular idiotypes in a sample and sequence them to learn more about how they work. Laboratory animals can be used to produce human idiotypes of a particular specificity for use in research and development of new vaccines. Variations in idiotype may also explain why people might have antibodies to one strain of disease but not to others, because they can’t latch onto antigens they aren’t designed to be paired with, as seen in cases of influenza.
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