Epitope
Short description
An epitope is the part of an antigen that is specifically recognized by antibodies or receptors on immune cells.
Synonyms
antigenic determinant
Detailed description
Epitopes are specific regions of an antigen that are recognized by the immune system. Antibodies can bind directly to the epitopes of an antigen.
T cells, on the other hand, typically recognize short protein segments (peptides) that have first been processed within a cell and are then presented by MHC molecules on the cell surface. An antigen can have several different epitopes.
