Definition of Antigens

1. Noun. (plural of antigen) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Antigens

1. antigen [n] - See also: antigen

Medical Definition of Antigens

1. Substances which are capable, under appropriate conditions, of inducing a specific immune response and of reacting with the products of that response, that is, with specific antibodies or specifically sensitised T-lymphocytes, or both. Antigens may be soluble substances, such as toxins and foreign proteins, or particulates, such as bacteria and tissue cells; however, only the portion of the protein or polysaccharide molecule known as the antigenic determinant (epitopes) combines with antibody or a specific receptor on a lymphocyte. (12 Dec 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Antigens

antigenic complex
antigenic determinant
antigenic drift
antigenic modulation
antigenic shift
antigenic switching
antigenic variation
antigenically
antigenicities
antigenicity
antigenocidal
antigenocide
antigenome
antigenomes
antigenomic
antigens (current term)
antigentile
antigerm
antighetto
antighost
antighosts
antigiardiasis
antigirl
antiglare
antiglaucoma
antiglobalisation
antiglobalism
antiglobalist
antiglobalists
antiglobalization

Literary usage of Antigens

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Chemical Pathology: Being a Discussion of General Pathology from the by Harry Gideon Wells (1914)
"Concerning the chemistry of antigens we can say that all antigens, ... been finally established that any colloids other than proteins can act as antigens. ..."

2. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1883)
"tural genes which code for antibody molecules specifically directed against the histocompatibility (H) antigens of the species; that mutations occur ..."

3. Transactions of the Association of American Physicians by Association of American Physicians (1920)
"Although the antigens which have been prepared from syphilitic tissue and even from certain normal tissues have proved to be of the greatest value in the ..."

4. Digestive Diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact edited by James E. Everhart (1995)
"HLA antigens and clinical manifestations in Crohn's disease, din Exp Rheumatol 1988;6:221-5. 138. Caruso C, Palmeri P, Oliva L, Criando A, Cottone M. HLA ..."

5. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (1903)
"Viral modification of H-2 antigens specify virus infected syngeneic cells as targets of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (18) and a hypothesis has been advanced ..."

6. Bacteriology by Arthur Isaac Kendall (1921)
"NATURE OF antigens AND ANTIBODIES. THOSE substances which cause specific antibody formation when they are introduced into the tissues or the body fluids of ..."

7. A Practical Text-book of Infection, Immunity, and Specific Therapy: With by John Albert Kolmer (1915)
"(a) Are antigens for the Wassermann syphilis reaction ... METHODS OF TITRATION OF antigens While the above extracts are in the course of preparation, ..."

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