| AMA | against medical advice; alkaline membrane assay; American Management Association; American Medical A... |
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| NA | Avogadro constant or number; nalidixic acid; Narcotics Anonymous; network administrator; neuraminida... |
| B3F | band 3 cytoplasmic fragment |
| cIgM | cytoplasmic immunoglobulin M |
| CM | California mastitis [test]; calmodulin; capreomycin; carboxymethyl; cardiac murmur; cardiac muscle; ... |
| nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio | Ratio of volume of nucleus to volume of cytoplasm, fairly constant for a particular cell type and usually increased in malignant neoplasms. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| affinity antibody | The measure of the interaction between molecules such as a receptor and its ligand. This interaction is reversible. (05 Mar 2000) |
| agglutinating antibody | 1. An antibody that causes clumping or agglutination of the bacteria or other cells which either stimulated the formation of the agglutinin, or contain immunologically similar, reactive antigen. Synonym: agglutinating antibody, immune agglutinin. 2. A substance, other than a specific agglutinating antibody, that causes organic particles to agglutinate, commonly qualified, e.g., plant agglutinin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anaphylactic antibody | Antibody that has an affinity for certain kinds of cells, in addition to and unrelated to its specific affinity for the antigen that induced it, because of the properties of the Fc portion of the heavy chain. See: heterocytotropic antibody, homocytotropic antibody, cytotropic antibody test. Synonym: anaphylactic antibody, cytophilic antibody. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anti-basement membrane antibody | Autoantibodies to renal glomerular basement membrane antigens. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antibody | An immunoglobulin molecule that has a specific amino acid sequence by virtue of which it interacts only with the antigen that induced its synthesis in cells of the lymphoid series (especially plasma cells) or with antigen closely related to it. Antibodies are classified according to their ode of action as agglutinins, bacteriolysins, haemolysins, opsonins, precipitins, etc. (18 Nov 1997) |
| antibody affinity | A measure of the binding strength between antibody and a simple hapten or antigen determinant. It depends on the closeness of stereochemical fit between antibody combining sites and antigen determinants, on the size of the area of contact between them, and on the distribution of charged and hydrophobic groups. It includes the concept of "avidity," which refers to the strength of the antigen-antibody bond after formation of reversible complexes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| antibody aldolase | <enzyme> Prepared by reactive immuninization to catalyze a wide variety of aldol reactions and decarboxylations Registry number: EC 4.1.2.- Synonym: fab 33f12, aldolase catalytic antibody (26 Jun 1999) |
| antibody-coated bacteria test, urinary | Fluorescent antibody technique for visualizing antibody-bacteria complexes in urine. The presence or absence of antibody-coated bacteria in urine correlates with localization of urinary tract infection in the kidney or bladder, respectively. (12 Dec 1998) |
| antibody combining site | <immunology> In immune network theory, an idiotope, an antigenic site of an antibody that is responsible for that antibody binding to an antigenic determinant (epitope). Also used of the site on a ligand molecule to which a cell surface receptor binds. (18 Nov 1997) |
| antibody deficiency disease | <syndrome> Any of a group of disorders associated with a defective antibody production due to defects in the B-type lymphocyte system or in T-type lymphocytes; chief manifestation is an increased susceptibility to infection by various microorganisms. See: agammaglobulinaemia, hypogammaglobulinaemia, immunodeficiency. Synonym: antibody deficiency disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antibody deficiency syndrome | <syndrome> Any of a group of disorders associated with a defective antibody production due to defects in the B-type lymphocyte system or in T-type lymphocytes; chief manifestation is an increased susceptibility to infection by various microorganisms. See: agammaglobulinaemia, hypogammaglobulinaemia, immunodeficiency. Synonym: antibody deficiency disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity | The phenomenon of antibody-mediated target cell destruction by non-sensitised effector cells. The identity of the target cell varies, but it must possess surface IgG whose fc portion is intact. The effector cell is a "killer" cell possessing fc receptors. It may be a lymphocyte lacking conventional b- or T-cell markers, or a monocyte, macrophage, or polynuclear leukocyte, depending on the identity of the target cell. The reaction is complement-independent. (12 Dec 1998) |
| antibody-dependent enhancement | Enhancement of viral infectivity caused by non-neutralizing antibodies. There are at least two mechanisms known to account for this: mediation by fc receptors (receptors, fc) or by complement receptors (receptors, complement). Either the virus is complexed with antiviral IgG and binds to fc receptors, or virus is coated with antiviral IgM and binds to complement receptors. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Antibody Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy | <pharmacology> A method for targeting a drug to a specific tissue, in which the targeting agent and the drug are administered separately. The drug is designed to be inactive (a prodrug) until it is converted by an enzyme, which is the targeting agent. The enzyme is coupled to an antibody that directs it to the tissue of interest. When the enzyme arrives at the tissue, the prodrug is activated only at that site, sparing other tissues from potentially toxic side effects. Acronym: ADEPT (14 Nov 1997) |