What Are Antibodies And What Do They Do In The Body

Antibodies are a special group of molecules that protect your body from the invasion of other organisms that they see as foreign, such as viruses and bacteria.

Therefore, they are important for the proper functioning of the immune system.

What antibodies are and why the body makes them

Antibodies are the acting molecules of the immune system.

They are also called immunoglobulins. The synthesis of these depends on specialized cells that are part of the immune system. The body produces more of them if it identifies or detects antigens.

These substances are found in foreign bodies such as bacteria, viruses, and so on. Thanks to research on this subject, it has been discovered that this plasma protein is synthesized by B cells and certain plasma cells.

Our immune system is very careful. Thus, it produces different antibodies or immunoglobulins for each antigen. This ensures our survival. But it also has weaknesses such as autoimmune diseases, which means when the antibodies look at the patient’s own cells as “foreign”. Thus, they will neutralize this apparent threat by destroying the healthy cells as if they were pathogens.

Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, most often use the blood circulation to move to another part of the body. In this way, they can travel quickly to where the antigens have been identified, and destroy them.

For this reason, medical professionals usually use blood tests to measure the level of antibodies. Thus, they can also use saliva samples or samples of other substances, such as cerebrospinal fluid.

Types of antibodies

According to their properties and functions, we can distinguish between different types of antibodies:

What antibodies are: Immunoglobulin G, or IgG

All in all, these represent the largest proportion of antibodies. They are congenital and protect babies from birth. This is because they are present in the placenta of the pregnant woman. Thus, these antibodies are transmitted from the mother to the fetus.

In principle, they are in your body throughout your life. They play a role in certain important discoveries such as the activation of phagocytes, ie that they kill harmful substances.

What antibodies are: Immunoglobulin M, or IgM

These molecules can form a structure similar to a circle that has up to ten binding sites (with antibodies). In general, they are the first to “contact” the newly identified antigen. 

They activate or encourage the performance of macrophages (similar to phagocytes).

Immunoglobulin A, or IgA

These antibodies have a monomeric or dimeric form. This means that they can occur in groups of up to two antibodies.

Furthermore, they play a major role in the function of the immune system in the mucous membrane (which produces breast milk, blood, mucus, tears and other things).

Immunoglobulin E, or IgE

These antibodies consist of two heavy chains and two light chains. In contrast to the antibodies we have mentioned above, they are usually found in the mast cell membranes. Therefore, most of them are found in the body tissue. 

They are usually receptors for allergens, antigens that provoke an extreme response. They are not necessarily dangerous substances, but the immune system recognizes them as a serious threat. They can cause rupture of mast cells and the production of histamines.

Immunoglobulin D, or IgD

These antibodies form polymer that binds the molecules of the antigen. They make up about 1% of the proteins of the plasma membranes of B cells.

We hope you find this article interesting and informative! If in doubt, contact your doctor if you want to know more about antibodies and immunoglobulins.