1/ The Immune System is actually a very complex network of tissues and cells all working together to protect us from pathogens and kill mutated cells. The Immune system falls into two arms with the Innate Immune System and the Adaptive Immune System. 
2/ The Innate Immune System consists of the physical barriers, chemical barriers and sentry cells. These three barriers make up the first line of defense for our bodies.
3/ The Adaptive Immune System is made up of cells that are much slower to respond, but provide very precise protection against each type of pathogen. Both of these arms of the Immune System work together to provide a complete immune response.
4/ #Antigens
The technical definition of antigen is anything that can be used by the immune system to provoke a response.
The technical definition of antigen is anything that can be used by the immune system to provoke a response.
5/ Antigens are small pieces of a pathogen that can be picked up and used by the immune system to mount a defense. They can be of the four basic building blocks of life with Nucleic Acids, Proteins, Lipids and Carbohydrates.
6/ Even toxins can be an antigen like heavy metals, snake venom and poison ivy. They can even be innocuous substances like pollen or pet dander.
7/ In some cases, even our own proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids can become antigen for an immune response. This can occur when the immune system targets cancer cells or in auto immunity.
8/ When it comes to antigens, B cells and T cells detect different antigens.
9/ The T cells can only detect small fragments of proteins. They are usually in the 7 to 10 amino acid length. The pathogens for T cells has to be broken down into tiny fragments called peptides before a T cell can bind it.
10/ The B cells can attach to any pathogen across Nucleic Acids, Proteins, Lipids, and Carbohydrates. They bind to small parts on the surface of these much bigger pathogens. B cells can also respond to toxins like heavy metals or bacterial toxins.
11/ When we deal with immunology, we will use the term antigen all the time. Its critical, in learning immunology, to understand what an antigen is, and what the differences are between the different antigens.
12/ Not all antigens will be a pathogen. They can be proteins of cancer cells showing up on the surface of the cancer cell. They can even be friendly self proteins in the auto immune diseases. They can even be completely innocent things like pollen or dust.
13/ #Epitope
Then comes the term Epitope. This is the actual part of a protein or pathogen that the T cell or B cell receptor will bind to.
Then comes the term Epitope. This is the actual part of a protein or pathogen that the T cell or B cell receptor will bind to.
14/ The T cell receptor binds to a sequence of amino acids of 7 to 10 amino acids long while the B cell binds to a sequence around 25 amino acids long. The actual protein can be hundreds or even thousands of amino acids long.
15/ That means two different antibodies or T cells could target different parts (epitopes) of the same protein. Its a key concept to understand in immunology as it affects how two drugs can have dramatically different effects.
16/ #Netoantigen
Then comes the term Neoantigen. This is a newer term used in cancer. When a protein mutates, it can create a very unique antigen that is much different from the normal protein.
Then comes the term Neoantigen. This is a newer term used in cancer. When a protein mutates, it can create a very unique antigen that is much different from the normal protein.
17/ These unique mutations can be an antigens to target with antibodies or T cells. There has been a lot of science around using these neoantigens to develop personalized cancer treatments designed for each patient.
18/ Each and every patient can have very unique mutations to the exact same protein, and they can be used as targets for therapies.
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