Antibody affinity maturation is a mechanism by which the structure.of an antibody is changed by somatic hypermutation and or gene conversion in order to increase the affinity of the antibody for its target antigen. The process is initiated after the binding of an antigen to an initial antibody with weak affinity. The binding activates B cells that express that particular antibody, and the B cell proliferates via clonal expansion. Hypermutations in the antibody gene occur during replication, and because of this, there are several daughter B cells that each have different antibodies on their surface. Some of these new antibodies have higher affinity than their parent molecule, so they bind more tightly to antigen. These new antibodies are selected for by virtue of their higher affinity for antigen, and are then distributed between germinal centers where somatic hypermutation can continue
Antibody affinity maturation is a mechanism by which the structure of an antibody is changed by somatic hypermutation and or gene conversion in order to increase the affinity of the antibody for its target antigen. The process is initiated after the binding of an antigen to an initial antibody with weak affinity. This binding activates B cells that express that particular antibody, and the B cell proliferates via clonal expansion. The newly produced antibodies have higher affinities than their progenitor antigens, which increases their ability to bind with high specificity and affinity.[1]
In general, it increases the specificity of the immune response.
Affinity maturation is a process that occurs in both germinal centers and plasma cells. It results from somatic hypermutation, a DNA mutation mechanism that changes gene sequences. In essence, affinity maturation is a means for an individual’s immune system to become increasingly more specific as it learns to recognize foreign invaders (antigens).
The process is initiated after the binding of an antigen to an initial antibody with weak affinity. This is known as the idiotype, which is a unique sequence of amino acids on the surface of an antibody molecule.
When these two molecules are bound together and then presented to other B cells in your body, they will attempt to bind even more strongly than before. The result from this binding process is called affinity maturation and results in an increase in your immune response since you now have more capable antibodies at work in your system.
B cells that express the antibody will proliferate via clonal expansion. This means that one B cell can divide into two identical daughter cells. The daughter cells are clones of the original parent cell and have identical genes to each other, because they both came from a single cell.
Unfortunately, the antibody that binds to an antigen is not always perfectly tailored for it. After all, B cells are selected for high avidity, but they must also be triggered by low-affinity binding sites of antigens if they have any chance of recognizing them. This means that there will be a variable number of daughter B cells with different antibodies on their surface after activation via low-affinity binding sites.
The process is initiated after the binding of an antigen to an initial antibody with weak affinity. The binding activates B cells that express that particular antibody because it binds through its variable heavy chain region and makes contact with the antigen's epitope (analogous to a lock and key). These activated B cells then undergo clonal expansion producing millions of identical daughter clones over time while they compete with each other in a race against time until one clone emerges victorious as the fittest survivor—the winner takes all!
[Some of these new antibodies] have higher affinity than their parent molecule, so they bind more tightly to antigen. These high-affinity antibodies are selected for and distributed to the germinal centers, where they undergo somatic hypermutation and class switching. In this way, the body can produce millions of different antibodies that recognize the same protein but each has a slightly different structure. This diversity protects us against pathogens by giving our immune system many options when it comes to matching up with foreign invaders.
As you might have guessed, this process is called affinity maturation. It is initiated by the binding of an antigen to an initial antibody with weak affinity. This binding activates B cells that express that particular antibody, and the B cell proliferates via clonal expansion. These new antibodies are selected for by virtue of their higher affinity for antigen, and are then distributed between germinal centers where somatic hypermutation can continue and in plasma cells where they can be secreted into circulation."
As you can see, antibody affinity maturation is a complex process involving many different mechanisms. The exact mechanism used depends on the type of B cell and how it reacts with antigen. Some B cells only undergo somatic hypermutation, whereas others go through both somatic hypermutation and gene conversion.