Antibodies

Antibody Structure

Antibodies are proteins - they are chains of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds. 

The variable regions of the antibody form the antigen binding sites. The shape of the variable region is complementary to a particular antigen. These differ between antigens. The hinge region allows flexibility when the antibody binds to the antigen. The constant regions allow binding to receptors on immune system cell e.g. phagocytes. The constant region is the same in all antibodies. Disulfide bridges hold the…