Abstract
The humoral immune response is part of both the innate and acquired immune systems with the resulting end product being the production of antibodies by B-lymphocytes. As reviewed in other chapters, the innate response is the frontline nonspecific immune response to foreign antigens. The innate response is composed of a variety of acute-phase reactants, including antibodies. The early innate immune response is independent of T-cell help and is primarily composed of IgM antibodies. Antibodies produced in the innate response are usually highly crossreactive with a number of antigens and of low affinity for any given antigen. Their purpose is to nonspecifically bind all foreign antigens so that they can be presented to the immune system, triggering a secondary, more specific acquired immune response if needed (1–3).
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Gilkeson, G.S. (2000). Humoral Response. In: Tsokos, G.C. (eds) Principles of Molecular Rheumatology. Current Molecular Medicine, vol 1. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-018-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-018-6_4
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
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