The specificity of an antibody molecule depends on the amino acid sequence of which region?

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Multiple Choice

The specificity of an antibody molecule depends on the amino acid sequence of which region?

Antibody specificity comes from the variable region of the antibody’s light and heavy chains. The amino acid sequence of these variable regions is built from recombined variable gene segments, so the particular V segments that are joined determine the shape and chemistry of the antigen-binding site. The highly variable loops within this region (the hypervariable or CDRs) are what actually contact the antigen, but the overall determinant of which antigen an antibody binds is the sequence encoded by the variable gene segments that form the variable region. The constant region sets effector functions and doesn’t define binding specificity, and the framework regions are mainly a conserved scaffold.

Antibody specificity comes from the variable region of the antibody’s light and heavy chains. The amino acid sequence of these variable regions is built from recombined variable gene segments, so the particular V segments that are joined determine the shape and chemistry of the antigen-binding site. The highly variable loops within this region (the hypervariable or CDRs) are what actually contact the antigen, but the overall determinant of which antigen an antibody binds is the sequence encoded by the variable gene segments that form the variable region. The constant region sets effector functions and doesn’t define binding specificity, and the framework regions are mainly a conserved scaffold.

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