PubMed · 235083
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H Smith. 1975. Microbial interference with host defence mechanisms.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/235083/
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Peptide antigens frequently induce antibodies which recognise the denatured form of a protein from which their sequences are derived. However, the ability to induce antibodies which crossreact with the native, fully folded form of the protein is less commonly observed. Although there is a growing number of examples in which this is the case, the ability to predict peptides having this property is extremely limited. Given the large surface areas involved in antibody/antigen interaction it is surprising that peptides could ever induce antibodies which would recognise the native protein well enough to have biological activity, such as the neutralization of infectivity. A mechanism is proposed to explain such observations which is compatible with many of the properties of antipeptide antibodies.
Four types of antigenic sites found in viruses are discussed: cryptotopes, neotopes, metatopes and neutralization epitopes. The role played by conformation on the specificity of viral epitopes is illustrated in the case of tobacco mosaic virus and influenza virus. It appears that mechanisms reminiscent of induced fit contribute to the recognition of viral epitopes by antibodies.