Antibodies

Antibodies are immunoglobulins secreted by effector lymphoid B cells into the bloodstream. Antibodies consist of two light peptide chains and two heavy peptide chains that are linked to each other by disulfide bonds to form a "Y" shaped structure. Both tips of the "Y" structure contain binding sites for a specific antigen. Antibodies are commonly used in medical research, pharmacological research, laboratory research, and health and epidemiological research. They play an important role in hot research areas such as targeted drug development, in vitro diagnostic assays, characterization of signaling pathways, detection of protein expression levels, and identification of candidate biomarkers.