Immunological Disorders and Immunotherapy
Open Access

Immunogenic Reaction

Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal. In other words, immunogenicity is the ability to induce a humoral and/or cell-mediated immune responses. Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are used for several diseases, including cancer and Rheumatoid arthritis. The first generation of therapeutic mAbs were of murine (mice) origin, which caused the antibodies to have high immunogenicity, leading to unwanted immunogenic properties. Consequently, the high immunogenicity limited efficacy and was associated with severe infusion reactions. Although the exact mechanism is unclear, it is suspected that the mAbs are inducing infusion reactions by eliciting antibody antigen interactions, such as increased formation of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, which may bind onto mast cells and subsequent degranulation, causing allergy-like symptoms as well as the release of additional cytokines.