BPK 105 Study Guide - Final Guide: Blood Transfusion, Abo Blood Group System, Adaptive Immune System
27 Apr 2018
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Module 9 - Review Questions - Part 4
5. What is an antigen, use the details of human blood typing (Section 11.6) to illustrate
your knowledge. Use a description of autoimmune disease to describe the ability to
differentiate between self and foreign molecules. [7 marks]
- An antigen is a substance that induces an adaptive immune response; following a period
of latency, antigens can cause a state of susceptibility, or lead to resistance to
substances that are toxic or to microorganisms.
- There are antigens on the surface of red blood cells; they are organized into blood
groups.
- THE ABO blood group organizes human blood into different types.
- Type A antigen and type B antigen may be on the surface of red blood cells. Thus, type
A blood is associated with type A antigens, whereas type B blood is associated with type
B antigens. Type AB blood has type A antigens, as well as type B antigens, and type O
blood does not have either.
- Antibodies, which are proteins capable of only binding to particular antigens, are typically
in the blood’s plasma.
- Type A blood contains plasma that has anti-B antibodies and attack type B antigens;
type B blood contains plasma that has anti-A antibodies, which attack type A antigens.
The plasma of type O blood contains both types of antibodies, while the plasma of type
AB blood does not have either kind of antibody.
- Unlink typical antibodies, anti-A antibodies or anti-B antibodies or both may be in blood,
even without be exposed to antigens that are on foreign red blood cells. This may be
because type A/B antigens located in food or bacteria in the body’s digestive tract cause
antibodies against antigens that are not the same as the body’s antigens to be formed.
Until an infant reaches around 2 months old, neither types of antibodies are in the blood.
If an infant has B antigens, the body would not produce anti-B antibodies against the B
antigens located on the food or the bacteria, because the body is able to stop antibodies
that would attack the body’s own antigens from being produced. However, anti-A
antibodies would be produced.
- During blood transfusion, recipients and donors should have the same blood type in
order for the transfusion to be successful. When a person who has type B blood donates
to a person who also has type B blood, there is no agglutination reaction, because the
recipient’s anti-A antibodies do not attack type B antigens. If a person with type B blood
received a blood transfusion from a person with type A blood, there would be an
agglutination reaction, because the recipient anti-A antibodies would fight against the A
antigen. Typically, those with O blood can give blood to those of other blood types
without causing agglutination or an ABO transfusion reaction. Because their red blood
cells do not have any antigens on their surfaces, they do not react with the anti-A or
anti-B antibodies of the recipient. However, transfusion of type O blood can still cause a
Document Summary
Module 9 - review questions - part 4: what is an antigen, use the details of human blood typing (section 11. 6) to illustrate your knowledge. Use a description of autoimmune disease to describe the ability to differentiate between self and foreign molecules. An antigen is a substance that induces an adaptive immune response; following a period of latency, antigens can cause a state of susceptibility, or lead to resistance to substances that are toxic or to microorganisms. There are antigens on the surface of red blood cells; they are organized into blood groups. The abo blood group organizes human blood into different types. Type a antigen and type b antigen may be on the surface of red blood cells. A blood is associated with type a antigens, whereas type b blood is associated with type. Type ab blood has type a antigens, as well as type b antigens, and type o blood does not have either.
