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Secretory IgA
Immunoglobulin A (IgA, also referred to as sIgA in its secretory form) is an antibody that plays a role in the immune function of mucous membranes. The amount of IgA produced in association with mucosal membranes is greater than all other types of antibody combined. In absolute terms, between three and five grams are secreted into the intestinal lumen each day. This represents up to 15% of total immunoglobulins produced throughout the body. IgA has two subclasses ( IgA1 and IgA2) and can be produced as a monomeric as well as a dimeric form. The IgA dimeric form is the most prevalent and, when it has bound the Secretory component, is also called ''secretory IgA'' (sIgA). sIgA is the main immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions, including tears, saliva, sweat, colostrum and secretions from the genitourinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, prostate and respiratory epithelium. It is also found in small amounts in blood. The secretory component of sIgA protects the immunoglobuli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimeric IgA Schematic 01
Dimer may refer to: * Dimer (chemistry), a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units ** Protein dimer, a protein quaternary structure ** d-dimer ** TH-dimer * Dimer model, an item in statistical mechanics, based on ''domino tiling'' * Julius Dimer (1871–1945), German chess master See also * Merosity, Dimery (botany), having two parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure * Di (other), a prefix * Dymer (other) * -mer, a suffix * Oligomer * Peierls transition, sometimes called dimerization {{Disambiguation, surname ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiratory Epithelium
Respiratory epithelium, or airway epithelium, is ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium a type of columnar epithelium found lining most of the respiratory tract as respiratory mucosa, where it serves to moisten and protect the airways. It is not present in the vocal cords of the larynx, or the oropharynx and laryngopharynx, where instead the epithelium is stratified squamous. It also functions as a barrier to potential pathogens and foreign particles, preventing infection and tissue injury by the secretion of mucus and the action of mucociliary clearance. Structure The respiratory epithelium lining the upper respiratory airways is classified as ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium. This designation is due to the arrangement of the multiple cell types composing the respiratory epithelium. While all cells make contact with the basement membrane and are, therefore, a single layer of cells, their nuclei are not aligned in the same plane. Hence, it appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polypeptide
Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. Peptides fall under the broad chemical classes of biological polymers and oligomers, alongside nucleic acids, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and others. Proteins consist of one or more polypeptides arranged in a biologically functional way, often bound to ligands such as coenzymes and cofactors, to another protein or other macromolecule such as DNA or RNA, or to complex macromolecular assemblies. Amino acids that have been incorporated into peptides are termed residues. A water molecule is released during formation of each amide bond.. All peptides except cyclic peptides have an N-terminal (amine group) and C-terminal (ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
J Chain
The Joining (J) chain is a protein component that links monomers of antibodies IgM and IgA to form polymeric antibodies capable of secretion. The J chain is well conserved in the animal kingdom, but its specific functions are yet to be fully understood. It is a 137 residue polypeptide, encoded by the ''IGJ'' gene. Structure The J chain is a glycoprotein of molecular weight 15 kDa. Its secondary structure remains undetermined but is believed to adopt either a single β-barrel or two-domain folded structure with standard immunoglobulin domains. The J chain's primary structure is unusually acidic having a high content of negatively charged amino acids. It has 8 cysteine residues, 6 of which are involved in intramolecular disulfide bonds while the remaining two function to bind the Fc tailpiece regions of IgA or IgM antibodies, the α chain and μ chain respectively. An N-linked carbohydrate resulting from N-glycosylation is also essential in the protein's incorporati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monomers
A monomer ( ; ''wikt:mono-, mono-'', "one" + ''wikt:-mer, -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can chemical reaction, react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or two- or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Chemistry classifies monomers by type, and two broad classes based on the type of polymer they form. By type: * natural vs synthetic, e.g. glycine vs caprolactam, respectively * polar vs nonpolar, e.g. vinyl acetate vs ethylene, respectively * cyclic vs linear, e.g. ethylene oxide vs ethylene glycol, respectively By type of polymer they form: * those that participate in condensation polymerization * those that participate in addition polymerization Differing stoichiometry causes each class to create its respective form of polymer. : The polymerization of one kind of monomer gives a polymer#Monomers and repeat units, homopolymer. Many polymers are copolymers, meaning that they are derived from two diff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polymers
A polymer () is a substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life. Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such as polystyrene to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins that are fundamental to biological structure and function. Polymers, both natural and synthetic, are created via polymerization of many small molecules, known as monomers. Their consequently large molecular mass, relative to small molecule compounds, produces unique physical properties including toughness, high elasticity, viscoelasticity, and a tendency to form amorphous and semicrystalline structures rather than crystals. Polymers are studied in the fields of polymer science (which includes polymer chemistry and polymer p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-cell Receptor
The B-cell receptor (BCR) is a transmembrane protein on the surface of a B cell. A B-cell receptor is composed of a membrane-bound immunoglobulin molecule and a signal transduction moiety. The former forms a type 1 Transmembrane protein, transmembrane receptor protein, and is typically located on the Cell membrane, outer surface of these lymphocyte cells. Through biochemical signaling and by physically acquiring antigens from the immune synapses, the BCR controls the activation of the B cell. B cells are able to gather and grab antigens by engaging biochemical modules for receptor clustering, cell spreading, generation of pulling forces, and receptor transport, which eventually culminates in endocytosis and antigen presentation. B cells' mechanical activity adheres to a pattern of negative and positive feedbacks that regulate the quantity of removed antigen by manipulating the dynamic of BCR–antigen bonds directly. Particularly, grouping and spreading increase the relation of anti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gut-associated Lymphoid Tissue
Gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) is a component of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) which works in the immune system to protect the body from invasion in the gut. Owing to its physiological function in food absorption, the mucosal surface is thin and acts as a permeable barrier to the interior of the body. Equally, its fragility and permeability creates vulnerability to infection and, in fact, the vast majority of the infectious agents invading the human body use this route. The functional importance of GALT in body's defense relies on its large population of plasma cells, which are antibody producers, whose number exceeds the number of plasma cells in spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow combined. GALT makes up about 70% of the immune system by weight; compromised GALT may significantly affect the strength of the immune system as a whole. Structure The gut-associated lymphoid tissue lies throughout the intestine, covering an area of approximately 260–300 m2. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-covalent
In chemistry, a non-covalent interaction differs from a covalent bond in that it does not involve the sharing of electrons, but rather involves more dispersed variations of electromagnetic interactions between molecules or within a molecule. The chemical energy released in the formation of non-covalent interactions is typically on the order of 1–5 kcal/ mol (1000–5000 calories per 6.02 molecules). Non-covalent interactions can be classified into different categories, such as electrostatic, π-effects, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic effects. Non-covalent interactions are critical in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of large molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. They are also involved in many biological processes in which large molecules bind specifically but transiently to one another (see the properties section of the DNA page). These interactions also heavily influence drug design, crystallinity and design of materials, particularly for self-assem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disulfide
In chemistry, a disulfide (or disulphide in British English) is a compound containing a functional group or the anion. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or sometimes a disulfide bridge and usually derived from two thiol groups. In inorganic chemistry, the anion appears in a few rare minerals, but the functional group has tremendous importance in biochemistry. Disulfide bridges formed between thiol groups in two cysteine residues are an important component of the tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins. Compounds of the form are usually called ''persulfides'' instead. Organic disulfides Structure Disulfides have a C–S–S–C dihedral angle approaching 90°. The S–S bond length is 2.03 Å in diphenyl disulfide, similar to that in elemental sulfur. Disulfides are usually symmetric but they can also be unsymmetric. Symmetrical disulfides are compounds of the formula . Most disulfides encountered in organosulfur chemistry are symmetrical disulfides. Unsymme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glycosylated
Glycosylation is the reaction in which a carbohydrate (or ' glycan'), i.e. a glycosyl donor, is attached to a hydroxyl or other functional group of another molecule (a glycosyl acceptor) in order to form a glycoconjugate. In biology (but not always in chemistry), glycosylation usually refers to an enzyme-catalysed reaction, whereas glycation (also 'non-enzymatic glycation' and 'non-enzymatic glycosylation') may refer to a non-enzymatic reaction. Glycosylation is a form of co-translational and post-translational modification. Glycans serve a variety of structural and functional roles in membrane and secreted proteins. The majority of proteins synthesized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum undergo glycosylation. Glycosylation is also present in the cytoplasm and nucleus as the ''O''-GlcNAc modification. Aglycosylation is a feature of engineered antibodies to bypass glycosylation. Five classes of glycans are produced: * ''N''-linked glycans attached to a nitrogen of asparagi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isotype (immunology)
In immunology, antibodies ( immunoglobulins (Ig)) are classified into several types called isotypes or classes. The variable (V) regions near the tip of the antibody can differ from molecule to molecule in countless ways, allowing it to specifically target an antigen (or more exactly, an epitope). In contrast, the constant (C) regions only occur in a few variants, which define the antibody's class. Antibodies of different classes activate distinct effector mechanisms in response to an antigen (triggering different elements of the innate immune system). They appear at different stages of an immune response, differ in structural features, and in their location around the body. Isotype expression reflects the maturation stage of a B cell. Naive B cells express IgM and IgD isotypes with unmutated variable genes, which are produced from the same initial transcript following alternative splicing. Expression of other antibody isotypes (in humans: IgG, IgA, and IgE) occurs via a proces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
