antigen - Catalysis

What is an Antigen?

An antigen is any substance that induces an immune response in the body, particularly the production of antibodies. In the context of catalysis, antigens can be used to develop highly specific and sensitive catalytic systems, often referred to as immunocatalysis.

How Do Antigens Relate to Catalysis?

Antigens can be utilized to create catalytic antibodies, also known as abzymes. These are antibodies that not only bind to a specific antigen but also catalyze a chemical reaction involving the antigen or its analogs. This concept merges the specificity of the immune system with the efficiency of chemical catalysts.

What Are Catalytic Antibodies?

Catalytic antibodies are engineered or naturally occurring antibodies that have the ability to act as catalysts. The active site of these antibodies mimics the transition state of the substrate, thereby lowering the activation energy of the reaction. This makes them highly efficient at accelerating specific biochemical reactions.

Applications of Antigen-Based Catalysis

Antigen-based catalysis has numerous applications in biotechnology and medicine. For instance, catalytic antibodies can be used in drug development to create more efficient therapeutic agents. They can also be applied in diagnostic assays to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of tests for various diseases.

Advantages of Using Antigens in Catalysis

One of the primary advantages is the specificity that antigens confer upon catalytic systems. This specificity can reduce side reactions and increase the yield of the desired products. Additionally, the biocompatibility of these systems makes them ideal for applications in living organisms.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite their potential, there are challenges in using antigens for catalysis. These include the complexity of antibody engineering, potential immunogenicity of the catalytic antibodies, and the difficulty in scaling up production. Furthermore, the stability of these biocatalysts under various conditions remains a significant hurdle.

Future Directions

Research is ongoing to overcome these challenges, with advances in protein engineering and molecular biology paving the way for more robust and versatile catalytic antibodies. The integration of computational methods to predict and design effective catalytic sites is also a promising avenue for future development.

Relevant Publications

Development of a bioluminescent homogenous nanobody-based immunoassay for the detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

Issue Release: 2024

Implementation and Performance of a Point-of-Care COVID-19 Test Program in 4,000 California Schools.

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Investigation of canine parvovirus occurrence in cats with clinical signs of feline panleukopenia in Slovakia - pilot study.

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Dermatologic adverse events associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy: a pharmacovigilance analysis of the FDA reporting system.

Issue Release: 2024

Dysregulated energy and protein homeostasis and the loss of GABAergic amacrine cells in aging retina.

Issue Release: 2024

A novel syphilis Treponema pallidum lipoprotein peptide antigen diagnostic assay using red cell kodecytes in routine blood centre column agglutination testing platforms.

Issue Release: 2024

Sustained release of inactivated H1N1 virus from degradable microparticles for extended vaccination.

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Clinical and Genomic Profile of Primary Cranial Neurolymphomatosis.

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A 67-Year-Old Man with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) on Maintenance Therapy with Ibrutinib with Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Infection Unresponsive to Antiviral Treatments.

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Insights into microstructure and expression of markers of proliferation, apoptosis and T cells in the spleen of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis).

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Analysis of risk factors for disease progression after salvage radiation therapy with androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer patients who have prostate-specific antigen persistence after radical prostatectomy.

Issue Release: 2024

Red Cell Alloimmunisation Among Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia Patients Following Rh- and K-Matched Red Cell Transfusion in Southwestern Saudi Arabia: A Multicenter Study.

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HLA investigation in ICI-induced T1D and isolated ACTH deficiency including meta-analysis.

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Investigating the role of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and human leukocyte antigen genetic variants in hepatitis C virus infection.

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Diverse roles of dendritic cell and regulatory T cell crosstalk in controlling health and disease.

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Activation of the hypoxia response in the aging cerebrovasculature protects males against cognitive impairment.

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Atypical Dengue Outbreak in Odisha: Insights from the Entomological Investigations.

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Mapping the landscape: a bibliometric study of global chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy research.

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Characterization of two affinity matured Anti-Yersinia pestis F1 human antibodies with medical countermeasure potential.

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Fusogenic Lipid Nanovesicle for Biomacromolecular Delivery.

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