Define agglutinin
Define agglutinin
Immunoglobulins (Ig) are also designated as antibodies (Ag) and helps in killing the pathogenic bacteria or virus present in the body. These are mainly Y-shaped proteins formed by plasma cells which are found in the immune system of human beings. They have the ability to identify the unique compound of a foreign pathogen known as an antigen.
Agglutinin is defined as a chemical compound present in human blood plasma that plays an important role in the immune mechanism of the human body. It allows the living cells to aggregate and coagulate to convert it from a liquid state to a solid-state.
Agglutinins are a type of immunoglobulins that allows specific antigens to aggregate through antibody's antigen-binding sites. When an agglutinin is added to a suspension of red blood cells, bacteria that have antigen (a specific surface structure) in which there is a chemical reaction occurs between agglutinin and antigen that forms clumps by binding with each other and adhere to the bottom surface level and make the suspending solution visually clear. Thus, this reaction is known as an antigen-antibody reaction.
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