Category: A

Rejection of a transplanted organ resulting from the action of antibodies against antigens found on the endothelial surface of blood vessels.  

The process by which phagocytes and natural killer cells bind with receptors on antibodies to destroy the antigens to which the antibodies are bound.  

The particular area on an antibody molecule to which part of an antigen links, creating an antigen-antibody reaction.  

An antibody that reacts with striated muscle cells. It is found principally in people with myasthenia gravis who also have thymoma.  

A serum marker of autoimmune thyroid destruction (i.e., of Grave ’s disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis).  

An antibody that reacts with the antigen receptor on a cell rather than with an antigen itself.  

Antibodies against the phospholipids contained in cell membranes. They are occasionally responsible for catastrophic coagulation disorders, which result in cerebral infarction (stroke), placental infarction (with loss of pregnancy), or blood clotting in other organs.  

A group of autoantibodies that react against normal components of the cell nucleus. These antibodies are present in a variety of immunologic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, progressive systemic sclerosis, Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis, and in some patients taking hydralazine, procainamide, or isoniazid. In addition, ANA is present in some normal people. Tests…

An autoantibody found in the blood of patients with certain forms of vasculitis (e.g., Wegener’s granulomatosis) especially when it affects small blood vessels.  

An antibody formed against the gluten in wheat, found in the serum of people with celiac sprue.