The role of antibody multivalency in immune effector processes.
The preparation of covalently crosslinked oligomers of antibody molecules is described. It is shown that these oligomers can be used to study quantitatively the effects of multivalency on binding to cell surface Fc receptors. It is also shown that three effector systems differ in the ways in which they interact with multivalent immune complexes.
D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D000818:Animals; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006636:Histamine Release; D007700:Kinetics; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011961:Receptors, Fc / Q000378:metabolism
D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011961:Receptors, Fc; D003165:Complement System Proteins