Antibody geometry and form: three-dimensional relationships between anti-idiotypic antibodies and external antigens.

Anti-idiotypes have been developed to mimic a wide variety of antigens in studies of antibody-antigen interactions. Molecular, biochemical and structural analysis of antibody-anti-idiotype pairs presents an excellent model for study of complex protein-protein interactions. An understanding of the ways in which anti-idiotypes mimic antigens and the features determining binding characteristics will facilitate rational design of compounds with biological, enzymatic, pharmaceutical and chemical applications.