B Zellen und Antigene - University Institute of Immunology

Repetition• Antibodies are produced by B lymphocytes and plasma cells inthe lymphoid organs and bone marrow, but antibodies performtheir effector functions at sites distant from their production.• The antibodies that mediate protective immunity may be derivedfrom short-lived or long-lived antibody-producing plasma cellsfollowing the activation of naive or memory B cells• Many of the effector functions of antibodies are mediated by theheavy chain constant regions of Ig molecules, and different Igheavy chain isotypes serve distinct effector functions• Although many effector functions of antibodies are mediated bythe Ig heavy chain constant regions, all these functions aretriggered by the binding of antigens to the variable regions3