Antigen and antibodies both play a vital but different role in disease, illness, and recovery in our body. One wants to create destruction or disturbance in your body while the other works to balance the healthy cells and kill the illness. So, we discussed today to know the different roles of antigen and antibodies and how they oppositely work together to give us a healthy life and a robust immune system. Antigens can make you sick, and in response, antibodies are produced, which protect you from antibodies.
What Are Antigens
Antigens are unknown substances and organisms. It could be anything virus, bacteria, chemical, food toxins, or any other type of substances that may be present outside of your body. The presence of antigen gives rise to disease-fighting and killing white blood cells called Lymphocytes. The presence of antigens produces antibodies that destroy the disease-causing cells. The antigens may be Heteroantigens or Autoantigens.
Heteroantigens are substances that are present distant in your body and made from viruses, bacteria, protozoa, snake venom, allergens such as pollen, specific proteins in food, and red blood cells of other people.
Autoantigen are substances produced in our body to strengthen our immune system, and usually, we feel some weakness and illness, but it is due to our autoimmune system.
Different antigens are present in other parts of our body, so antigens are classified into five types according to their presence.
Exogenous present outside of the cell.
Endogenous present inside the cell.
Neoantigens are resulting from tumor or cancer cells.
Native antigens are produced by antigen-producing cells.
What Are Antibodies
Antibodies are proteins that produce the cells which fight against the antigens and maintain the body’s immune system. Many antibodies are made to fight a specific type of antigen. It binds with antigen to neutralize their effect. Antibodies are specially designed to kill antigens. So they are present in our blood, bones, glands, hormones, bone marrow in millions to ensure that every antigen can be rapidly killed before affecting the healthy cells.
Antibodies are released by b leukocyte, aa form of white blood cells, and antibodies move in the entire body freely or by attaching on b leukocytes. These B leukocytes and T cells move freely in the body to detect the location and identification of antigen and produce specific antibodies which rapidly kill or neutralize the antigens. An antigen is vaccinated in our body to teach the antibodies which type of new antibodies want our body and how to kill this type of virus so when an actual virus attacks us, our antibodies know better what and how to kill this antigen in little discomfort and weakness.
Main Type Of Antibodies
lgG
It is the primary antibody in the blood. This passes through the placenta and moves from the mother’s body to the baby a week after birth. It is widely distributed in cells, tissues, and organs to protect the body from infection.
lgM
It consists of five types of antibodies and plays a vital role in protection. These are the first antibodies that initiate the immune system. It is present in the blood.
lgA
These are made up of two antibodies in serum, nasal discharge, saliva, breast milk, and bowel fluid. Presence in breast milk prevents the infection of the baby in the gastrointestinal tract. It collects the antigens and removes them from the body by mucus or with other wastes of the body.
lgD
It is present on the surface of b cells and activates the antibodies of allergies, infection, and parasites. It is present in the skin, lungs, etc.
lgE
These are related to immune reactions attached to B cells and play an essential role in releasing lgM.
Difference Between Antigens And Antibodies
Here is a comparison chart which shows the difference more easily and shortly.
| Comparison Basis | Antigens | Antibodies |
| Definition | A substance that produces an immune system. | Antibodies are proteins that kill and neutralize the antigens. |
| Presence | In other words, It may be present inside and outside of the body cell. | So, It is present in the body. |
| Molecule type | So, It may be protein, lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids. | Similarly, They are proteins. |
| Binding sites | However, Paratope: a specific site present on the top of antibodies. | Therefore, Epitope: a specific site of antigen where an antibody can attach. |
| Shape | Different shapes, e.g., round shapes, and have some spines or cone-like bodies. | After that, Present in “Y” shape. |
Antigen Vaccination
Our body needs both antigens and antibodies to make a robust immune system. In vaccination, the antigen (virus or other infection or harmful toxins) is injected into the body to create new antibodies that can fight this type of infection. When an antigen enters the body, antibodies start attaching to it and get the information to make a new type of antibody that can kill this type of antigen. So, when an actual virus or infection attacks us, our immune system knows better how to control this rapidly.
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