Lerner R A
Nature. 1982 Oct 14;299(5884):593-6. doi: 10.1038/299592a0.
We understand the structure of antibodies in detail, but know little about the molecular basis of the immunogenicity of proteins. Recent experiments have shown that chemically synthesized peptides representative of virtually any part of the surface of a protein can elicit antibodies reactive with the native molecule. Such peptides can serve as synthetic vaccines, and antibodies, useful in the study of changes in protein structure, can be generated. As these antibodies react with regions of the protein known in advance to the experimenter, they can be said to be of predetermined specificity.
我们对抗体的结构有详细的了解，但对蛋白质免疫原性的分子基础却知之甚少。最近的实验表明，化学合成的、代表蛋白质表面几乎任何部位的肽段能够引发与天然分子发生反应的抗体。这类肽段可作为合成疫苗，并且能够产生对研究蛋白质结构变化有用的抗体。由于这些抗体与实验者事先已知的蛋白质区域发生反应，因此可以说它们具有预先确定的特异性。
