Glossary
ABC:Antigen-bindingcell.
ABS:Antigen-bindingsiteonanantibody.
ADCC:Antibody-dependentcell-mediated
cytotoxicity.
Adjuvant:Asubstancewhichintensifies
theimmuneresponseagainstananti-
gen,inaimmunologicallynon-specific
manner.
AFC:Antibody-formingcell.
Affinity:Ameasureofbindingstrength
betweenanantigendeterminant(epi-
tope)andthebindingsiteofananti-
body(paratope).
Affinitymaturation:Anincreaseinthe
averageantibodyaffinityacquireddur-
ingthecourseofasecondaryandfol-
lowingimmuneresponses.
AFP:a-fetoprotein.
Allele:Genelocusvariationswithinaspe-
cies.
Allergy:Analteredresponsefollowing
secondarycontactwiththesameanti-
gen,alsodefinedastypeIhypersensi-
tivity.
Allogeneic:Referstothegeneticvariety
containedwithinaspecies.
Allotransplant: Transplanted allogeneic
tissue.
Allotype:Differentformsofaproteinpro-
duct,usuallyIg,recognizedasananti-
genbyanotherindividualofthesame
species.
Alternativepathway:Activationofthe
complementsystemviaC3orother
factors,butnotviaC1q.
ANA(anti-nuclearantibodies):Autoanti-
bodydirectedagainstDNAcontained
withinthecellnucleus.
Anaphylatoxins:Complementfragments
(C3aandC5a),responsibleformediat-
ingmastcelldegranulation.
Anaphylaxis:Anantigen-specific,primar-
ilysystemicIgG-orIgE-mediated-im-
muneresponse.
Antigens:Molecules whichare usually
characterized by complex folding,
andwhichcanberecognizedbyanti-
bodies.
Antibody:Amoleculewhichbindstoa
specificantigen.
APC:Antigen-presentingcell.
Atopic:Increasedsusceptibilitytotheclin-
ical manifestations associated with
typeIhypersensitivity(e.g.eczema,
asthma,andrhinitis).
Autologous:Derivedfromthesameindi-
vidual(orinbredstrain).
Autosomes:Allchromosomesotherthan
theXorYsexchromosomes.
Avidity:Ameasureofthefunctionalbind-
ingstrengthbetweenanantibodyand
itsantigen;dependentonaffinityand
valences(numberofbindingsites).
BCA-1:B-cellattractant.
BCG:BacillusCalmette-Guerin.Anattenu-
atedformofMycobacteriumtuberculo-
sis.
BCGF:B-cellgrowthfactor.
Bence-Jonesproteins:Freelightchainsof
Igpresentintheserumandurineof
multiplemyelomapatients.
Bursafabricii:Lymphoepithelialorganad-
jacenttothecloacaofbirds,inwhichB
cellsmature.
C:Complement(C1–9).
Cdomain:ConstantcomponentofIg.
C3binactivator:Acomponentofthe
complementsystem,knownasfactor
I.
Capping:Aggregationofsurfacemole-
culesonthecellmembrane.
Carrier:Thepartofamoleculewhichis
recognizedbyTcellsduringanim-
muneresponse.
CBR:Complement-bindingreaction.
CCR:Areceptorforthosechemokines
whichcontainadjacentcysteine-cy-
steines(CXCorCXXC,cysteinessepa-
ratedbyoneortwoaminoacids).
CDmarker:Clusterdeterminantorcluster
ofdifferentiation,characteristicofdis-
tinctlymphocytesubpopulations.
CDR:Complementaritydeterminingre-
gions (hypervariable antibody re-
gions).
Chemokines:Chemoattractantcytokines1392All rights reserved. Usage subject to terms and conditions of licenseKayser, Medical Microbiology © 2005 Thieme
All rights reserved. Usage subject to terms and conditions of license.