Why conjugated molecules create stronger immune response? Example protein-polysaccharide better than only protein or only polysaccharide? Is this time related?
Thank you.
You conjugate your molecule, the "antigen", with an "adjuvant", a known danger signal. The adjuvant might for example be a polysaccharide derived from a bacterium that evolution has seen for a long time and that is "known" to the innate arm of the immune system (via pathogen-associated molecular pattern receptors) as dangerous.
This activates the innate arm of the immune system. The two arms then work together via antigen-presenting pathways to associate your antigen with the "danger" represented by the adjuvant. This results in a faster, more ferocious, and longer lasting immune response than you would get with the antigen alone.
Conjugation can create repeated patterns on the surface of a molecule. These repeated patterns can bind several B-cell receptors in a close proximity. This will lead to a T-cell independent response in a B-cell.
I suggest that you read a textbook chapter on hapten -carriers and why they are important for the interaction of T and B cells!
Years ago we have demonstrated that when conjugating an antibody with a isotope carrier (for In-111 or Yttrium-90; called chelating agent), such like DOTA or a DTPA derivative, then the latter acts like an hapten and elicits antibodies specific for the carrier, thus mimicking a typical hapten-carrier effect [Kosmas et al. Cancer Research 52(4):904-11, 1992]
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