About Antibody, Antibodies, Immunoglobulin, Antigen, Antibody Titer, Monoclonal Antibody

An antibody is a protective protein that’s also referred to as immunoglobulin.  It is a specialized protein produced in response to an antigen.

The production of antibodies is one of the primary functions of your immune system. An antibody is manufactured by lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.

All immunoglobulins are not identical because antigen’s method for causing disease varies. Therefore, they are built explicitly to combat a specific antigen’s mechanism.

Once an antibody has been formulated to successfully destroy a particular antigen, then its future reproduction to the same antigen is quick. And this is the basis of immunity.

An antigen is any substance that stimulates an antibody immune response because it’s not recognized by your body as being a part of itself.  Examples of antigens include:

Sometimes antibodies are built to fight against its own tissue, which is what’s known as an autoimmune disease.

An antibody titer is a diagnostic tool to measure the concentration of certain antibodies circulating in your bloodstream. This immunoglobulin test may reveal previous exposure to or health predicaments like:

Antibody titer may also help determine whether your immune response to a recent vaccine was strong enough or if you need a booster.

Monoclonal antibody therapy is a type of drug therapy that specifically targets certain cells. Monoclonal antibodies are made in a laboratory and are employed to treat health conditions such as:

Monoclonal antibody treatment is considered a form of immunotherapy.