Antibodies serve as an immune system’s tools to respond to any foreign substance entering the human body. These substances, in the form of different molecules and bacteria, are also known as antigens (US National Library of Medicine, 2021). Hence, a primary action of an antigen presupposes triggering the human immune system of an unknown substance that should be recognized and liquidated. Antibodies, for their part, are responsible for rapid reaction to the antigens entering the body and neutralizing the bacteria before they affect one’s organs and function (National Human Genome Research Institute, n.d.). Essentially, an antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a Y-shaped protein molecule with different peptide chains created by immune cells (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Containing both constant and variable peptide chains, antibodies have the ability to adapt their peptide to bond with foreign antigens and neutralize them. Hence, both antigens and antibodies are critical components in the process of securing one’s immunity to certain pathogens.
Out of five existing types of immunoglobulins, immunoglobin D (IgD) is considered the least comprehensive among the scholarly community. Thus, IgD is located primarily on the surface of B lymphocytes (Vladutiu, 2020). Since B cells are a type of white blood cells generally responsible for producing antibodies, their sphere of impact remains rather vague to the researchers. Hence, according to Vladutiu (2020), this antibody with a relatively low serum quantity is responsible for general immune homeostasis in one’s body rather than for specific pathogens triggering the immune system. According to some researchers, the primary function of IgD is to “enhance mucosal homeostasis and immune surveillance” (Gutzeit et al., 2018, p. 1101). Thus, it may be concluded that despite the ambiguity behind the exact actions performed by IgD, this immunoglobulin is still critical in the context of the human immune system.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Immunity types. Web.
Gutzeit, C., Chen, K., & Cerutti, A. (2018). The enigmatic function of IgD: Some answers at last. European Journal of Immunology, 48(7), 1101-1113. Web.
National Human Genome Research Institute. (n.d.). Antibody. Web.
US National Library of Medicine. (2021). Antigen. Web.
Vladutiu, A. O. (2020). Immunoglobulin D: Properties, measurement, and clinical relevance – mini-review. Web.