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An immunogen is any substance that generates B-cell (humoral/antibody) and/or T-cell (cellular) adaptive immune responses upon exposure to a host organism.[1][2] Immunogens that generate antibodies are called antigens ("antibody-generating").[2] Immunogens that generate antibodies are directly bound by host antibodies and lead to the selective expansion of antigen-specific B-cells. Immunogens that generate T-cells are indirectly bound by host T-cells after processing and presentation by host antigen-presenting cells.
An immunogen can be defined as a complete antigen which is composed of the macromolecular carrier and epitopes (determinants) that can induce immune response.
An explicit example is a hapten. Haptens are low-molecular-weight compounds that may be bound by antibodies, but cannot elicit an immune response. Consequently, the haptens themselves are nonimmunogenic and they cannot evoke an immune response until they bind with a larger carrier immunogenic molecule. The hapten-carrier complex, unlike free hapten, can act as an immunogen and can induce an immune response.[3]
Until 1959, the terms immunogen and antigen were not distinguished.[4]
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"im·mu·no·gen", Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.), Springfield, Massachusetts, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003,
a substance that produces an immune response
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"Immunogen". immunopaedia.org.za. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
A substance capable of eliciting a immune response. All immunogens are antigens, but some antigen are not immunogens (e.g. haptens)
- ^ Abbas A.K.; Lichtman A.H.; Pillai S. (2012). Cellular and Molecular Immunology. 7th edition. Elsevier, Ed. Gruliow R. pp. 101–103, 483.
- ^ Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster. "Immunogen". Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2013-12-31.