Immunoglobulins

Prof. Dr: Sabah Abdel-Hady

 ?What are Immunoglobulins

• Immunoglobulins are γ-globulins that act as

antibodies.
• They mark pathogen for destruction by phagocytes
and complement proteins
• Synthesized to bind to one specific antigen
• Immunoglobulins are glycoprotein in nature.
• They are produced by plasma cells in response to an
immunogen.
There are 5 classes
of immunoglobulins: IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE.
 The basic structure of Antibodies
• Is the same for all classes:
• Y-shaped
• Composed of 4 polypeptide
chains:
- 2 identical light chains (L)
- 2 identical heavy chains (H)
• Linked by disulphide bonds.
• Both L and H chains have variable regions (VL & VH) amino
terminal NH2 part and constant regions (CL & CH) carboxy
terminal COOH part.
• The constant region has almost
constant amino acid sequence in
all Ig`s of the same class.
• Some carbohydrate are
bounded to the constant regions
of the heavy chains.
• Each Ig has 2 identical
antigen-binding sites.
 Fab region

Fc region
 Heavy chains
• The VH region is the amino terminal ¼ , while CH region is the
carboxy terminal ¾ of H-chain.
• The structure of CH region determines the class of Ig.
• There are 5 types of heavy chains: α,γ, δ, ε, and μ those will
determine the classes of Ig.
1. IgG - Gamma  heavy chains (γ)
2. IgM - Mu  heavy chains (μ)
3. IgA - Alpha heavy chains (α)
4. IgD - Delta  heavy chains (δ)
5. IgE - Epsilon  heavy chains (ε)
 Immunoglobulin Subclasses

• The classes of immunoglobulins can be divided into

subclasses based on small differences in the amino acid
sequences in the constant region of the heavy chains.
• All immunoglobulins within a subclass have very similar
heavy chain constant region amino acid sequences.
 Immunoglobulin Subclasses

1. IgG Subclasses
a) IgG1 - Gamma 1  heavy chains
b) IgG2 - Gamma 2  heavy chains
c) IgG3 - Gamma 3  heavy chains
d) IgG4 - Gamma 4  heavy chains
2. IgA Subclasses
a) IgA1 - Alpha 1  heavy chains
b) IgA2 - Alpha 2  heavy chains
 Light chains
• Have lower molecular weight and
length than the H-chains.
• The VL region is the amino terminal ½,
while the CL region is the carboxy
terminal ½ of L-chain.
• CL region will determine the light
chains types: there are 2 types of light
chains: Kappa (k) and lambda (λ ).
• A given immunoglobulin molecule
contains two (k) or two (λ ).
 The variable regions of Ig`s:

• It has a variable amino acid

sequence and form the
antigen binding site of the
immunoglobulin.
• Specific to Ag
 Digestion of an Ig`s
 By the enzyme papain:
 Occures at the hinge region, therefore it
produces two antigen binding
fragments (Fab) and one crystallizable
fragment (FC).
• By pepsin: Antigen binding fragment
(Fab)2 linked by disulphide bond.
• (FC) crystalline fragment that will be
degraded to amino acids as digestion
occurs near the carboxy terminal half.
 :IgG
• It is the most abundant immunoglobulin in serum.
• IgG is the major Ig in serum - 75% of serum Ig is IgG
• It is the major Ig in extra vascular spaces

Structure:
Each IgG exists as a monomer consisting of two (k) or (λ)
light chains and two (γ) heavy chains: (γ2L2). IgG1,IgG2,
IgG3 and IgG4 with γ1 γ2 γ3 γ4 H chain.
Secretory
IgA
 IgM

Structure:
It exists as pentamer:
 IgE
IgE exists as a monomer
consisting of 2 (k) or (λ) light chains
and 2 (ε) heavy chains: (ε2L2).
Which statement about the Fc part of
antibodies is not true?
A) It varies depending on the antigen class.
B) It contains oligosaccharides.
C) It resembles ½ of the L and ¾ of the H chains.
D) It can bind to antigen.
How many heavy and light chains does a typical
immunoglobulin from the type G (IgG) contain?
 
A) one light and one heavy chain
B) two light and two heavy chains
C) two light and four heavy chains
D) four light and two heavy chains
E) four light and four heavy chains
The antigen specificity of the antibody is located:
A) exclusively in the region of the heavy chains
B) within the C-terminal part of the
immunoglobulin chains
C) within the Fab-part of the immunoglobulins
D) within the Fc-part of the immunoglobulins
E) only in the variable part of the light chains