The Antigens

The Antigens, Volume I is a comprehensive treatise covering all aspects of antigens, including their chemistry and biology, structure and function, their initiation of the immune response, and the nature of the products of this response. The nature of the reaction of antigens with antibodies and with sensitized cells is also explored. Comprised of seven chapters, this volume begins with a discussion on the antigenic functions of nucleic acids as well as their immunogenicity, hapten functions, and serologic reactions. The reader is then introduced to the immunochemistry and antigenic determinants of enzymes, along with the structure and phylogeny of immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin allotypes. The evolution of proteins and their structure and function is also considered, paying particular attention to evolution by the random fixation of selectively neutral alleles, the rates of protein evolution, gene duplication, and divergence or convergence. The final chapter is devoted to the chemistry and biology of immunoglobulin E as well as the regulation of formation of their antibodies. This book will be of interest to practitioners and researchers in immunology, experimental and clinical medicine, biochemistry, and other disciplines.