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Do we need to know the structure of antibody? (1 Viewer)

Cade

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Is it necessary to know the structure and parts of the antibody? And I'm not very clear about how antibody destroys antigen by complement. Can anyone help explain how "destruction by complement" happen?:confused:
 

+Po1ntDeXt3r+

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i suspect that this is wayyyyy out of ur league.. i.e u dun need this.. and im sure survivor39 will tell me the same things ( but then i didnt do yr 12 bio so i dunno better)

but antibodies (IgG or IgM) attract completment factors... there are about 14-17 of them.. u start with C1 which attaches to Fc portion of the antibody then after a few steps this leads to 1 of 3 things

at step C3b (u need to realise that C3b is attached to the cell surface and/or antibody)
- this opsinises (imagine it as a beacon on the cell.. ) and can lead to phagocytosis by a phagocyte..

OR
-stimulations inflammation by releasing C3a---> recruits WBCs causing inflammation

OR
-formation of MAC (membrane attack complex) via complement protein (C5b-C6-C7-C8-polyC9) joining together on the plasma membrane
[its like a straw in the cell wall that causes osmotic lysis]

here is a pic... but in order to understand it.. read the above thoroughly
http://faculty.ircc.edu/faculty/tfischer/images/complement.jpg
 
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+Po1ntDeXt3r+

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perhaps you need to consider the 'scope' of your work and what is expected of you..

the thing about the exams is that if it is new or more complex than the markers level of understanding you maybe disadvantaged... even in university this happens..

im not saying its bad to learn more but it does question if u saw the 40 page slide for 2nd yr immunology just explaining complement... you would think it was overkill for the HSC and useless (countless novel genes.. that are not therapeutic yet)..

remember to see the learning objectives and learn to summerise and understand ... this will be a good skill for academic life in general...

[rote learning can be good until they find out a model is wrong.. it happens countless times and also makes u a crap researcher... :)]

also about the structure; are u talkin about hte Fab and the Fc parts??? because u can... but im not sure its in the HSC tho..

summary: see wat are important points and consequences... see what it is worth.. manage your exam timing..

and save the learning every single point mutation on the genome for the books or till ure about 27 yrs old with a PhD in Immunology under ure belt. :)
 
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simplistic

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so like 4 ways in which antibodies destry antigen and the chain reaction which leads to destruction via complement shouodnt be learnt in depth ?
 

Survivor39

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You really don't need to know that much detail, seriously! I agree with Point.

Your teacher just gave you that info so people who are interested can know more about it. But the examiners are not going to ask you to "Describe the function of complement in relation to antibody".

Basically, all you need to know is what is antibody, what cell make it, and what are the roles of antibody. I'm not even sure whether complement is actually in the HSC syllabus.
 

Roboooo

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Of course not- and if it did, it wouldn't be in-depth.

You need to know the interaction between t and b lymphocytes, and how antibodies are formed. If you wanted to be 100% safe, learn the basics like how they attach and about 'perofin', but i highly doubt a question would specifically ask about the structure of antibodies...
 

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