Question

An antigen that presents only one epitope could trigger the full humoral immune response via ......?

Answer 1

An epitope also known as antegenic determinant is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system specifically by antibodies, T cells or B cells. Different antibodies can made that recognize different epitopes on the same molecules. Antigens are large molecular weight proteins and polysaccharides. An antigen that present when there is at least 1 epitope. But there is not specific number of epitopes on one antigen. The number of epitopes depend on the size of the antigen.

The humoral immune responses are mediated by antibody molecules. Antibody can also trigger the activation of complement system. Epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. This epitope trigger the humoral immune response such as activation of B cells and their differentiation into antibody secreting plasma cells is triggered by the antigen and usually requires helper T cells.