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Antibodies

IgG effector function: a question of balance

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 6, pages 4–5 (2006)Cite this article

the differential biological activities of the IgG subclasses are dependent on their differential affinities for FcRs

FcRs can either activate or inhibit immune responses. A single inhibitory FcR, FcγRIIB, is present in both humans and mice, and the cellular response is determined by the balance between activating and inhibitory signals through FcRs on a cell. Each IgG subclass has a different affinity for different FcRs. In previous work, the authors developed the idea of an activating-to-inhibitory ratio (the A/I ratio, calculated by dividing the affinity of a specific IgG subclass for an activating receptor by the affinity for the inhibitory receptor) and found that these ratios varied between IgG subclasses. In the current study, an in vivo system was established to address whether A/I ratios correlated with the variation in subclass activity. The IgG2a subclass had the highest A/I ratio (∼70) and the IgG1 subclass had the lowest ratio.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Nimmerjahn, F. & Ravetch, J. V. Divergent immunoglobulin G subclass activity through selective Fc receptor binding. Science 310, 1510–1512 (2005)

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  1. Elaine Bell
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Bell, E. IgG effector function: a question of balance. Nat Rev Immunol 6, 4–5 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1766

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1766

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