Immunoglobulin proteins are also known as antibodies, and can circulate freely or be bound to cell surfaces. They serve to tag specific structures for recognition and attack by the immune system, so a very broad range of variants on the basic structure are manufactured by plasma cells derived from B cells in response to the presence of immune-provoking antigens. These immunoglobulins then go on to shape the behavior of the immune system as a whole. Here, researchers take a tour of what is known of age-related changes in immunoglobulins, an area of study in which all too little is completely mapped or understood. To understand what is observed, one would hav…
Incompletely Understood Changes in Immunoglobulins Take Place with Age
Immunoglobulin proteins are also known as antibodies, and can circulate freely or be bound to cell surfaces. They serve to tag specific structures for recognition and attack by the immune system, so a very broad range of variants on the basic structure are manufactured by plasma cells derived from B cells in response to the presence of immune-provoking antigens. These immunoglobulins then go on to shape the behavior of the immune system as a whole. Here, researchers take a tour of what is known of age-related changes in immunoglobulins, an area of study in which all too little is completely mapped or understood. To understand what is observed, one would hav…