Jakarta, TheIndonesiaPost – Antibodies in the human body apparently have many types. And each type of antibody has a different survival time.
Head of LIPI’s Applied Genetic Engineering and Protein Design Laboratory, Wien Kusharyoto said, it was influenced by various things, including antibodies to fight the Covid-19 coronavirus.
“Half-life of antibody molecules in the body depends on the type,” Wien said, quoted by Cable News Network Indonesia.
Wien said IgM and IgA antibodies were only able to last for a few days. Based on the results of the study, he said IgM and IgA were only able to last for 5 to 6 days.
While IgG, Wien explained that it can last 21 to 28 days. The reason behind the long duration of IgG persists is because the recycling process is mediated through binding to the Fc-domain of IgG by neonatal Fc receptors (FcRn).
Furthermore, Wien explained the determination of antibody half-life was done by pharmacokinetic analysis. One of them by taking blood samples.
“And the determination of antibody concentrations by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) uses the appropriate antigen,” he said.
On the other hand, Wien explained that antibodies arise due to hormonal responses. He said, the virus in the body will be absorbed by antigen presenting cells (APCs) for further degradation and then the antigen fragments presented on its surface.
The antigen fragment, will be recognized by T cells which will then activate the humoral response and cellular response.
“The humoral response will cause the formation of antibodies that are specific to antigen fragments from the virus,” Wien said.
At the same time as the formation of antibodies, Wien said the memory B cells will form. Then the memory B cell will remember the fragments of the virus antigen to enable the formation of more mature antibodies in recognizing the antigen fragment, in case of re-infection by the same virus.
“With these B memory cells, antibodies that are specific to the virus will always re-form for several years,” he said. (ras/bbs)
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