View synonyms for antigen

antigen

[ an-ti-juhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Immunology. any substance, as a protein, carbohydrate, etc., that, on entering the body, can stimulate an immune response and combine with a specific antibody or T cell receptor having a matching molecular structure.
Pharmacology. any commercial substance, usually synthetic, that stimulates the production of antibodies when injected or absorbed into animal tissues.
antigens of a particular type collectively.

antigen

/ -ˌdʒɛn; ˈæntɪdʒən /

antigen

/ ăn′tĭ-jən /

A substance that stimulates the production of an antibody when introduced into the body. Antigens include toxins, bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
Compare antibodySee Note at blood type

Origin of antigen¹

First recorded in 1905–10; anti(body) + -gen

Origin of antigen¹

C20: from anti ( body ) + -gen

Now, preventive protocols—like mammograms, colonoscopies, and Prostate-Specific Antigen tests—are being questioned.

At the time his PSA screening revealed only a slightly higher level of the antigen than the cut-off for his age group.

Ford claims to have obtained proof that a glucoside contained in the poisonous mushroom Amanita phalloides can act as an antigen.

The complement fixation test is like a Wassermann reaction, but the antigen should be polyvalent.

It is not apparent that the nature of the antigen would affect Ehrlichs theory of the formation of antibodies.

If amboceptors as antigen are injected into an animal there will be formed by the animals cells antiamboceptors.

The substance within the introduced cell which acts as a stimulus (antigen) to the body cells is called an agglutinogen.

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