Examples of paratope in the following topics:
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- Each time these cells are induced to proliferate due to an infection, the genetic region coding for the paratope undergoes spontaneous mutations with a frequency of about 1 in every 1600 cell divisions.
- Some of the resulting paratopes (and the cells elaborating them) have a better affinity for the antigen (actually, the epitope) and are more likely to proliferate than the others.
- The fact that all the cells of a single clone elaborate one (and only one) paratope, and that the memory cells survive for long periods, is what imparts a memory to the immune response.
- The paratope is the part of an antibody which recognizes an antigen, the antigen-binding site of an antibody.
- The part of the antigen to which the paratope binds is called an epitope.
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- Each tip of the "Y" of an antibody contains a paratope (a structure analogous to a lock) that is specific for one particular epitope (similarly analogous to a key) on an antigen, allowing these two structures to bind together with precision.
- The large and diverse population of antibodies is generated by random combinations of a set of gene segments that encode different or paratopes, followed by random mutations in this area of the antibody gene, which create further diversity.
- The paratope is shaped at the amino terminal end of the antibody monomer by the variable domains from the heavy and light chains.