Imunodominance

Imunodominance refers to the phenomenon in immunology where a particular epitope, or part of an antigen, elicits a stronger immune response than other available epitopes on the same antigen. When the immune system encounters a foreign substance, such as a virus or bacterium, it recognizes various molecular structures on that substance. These structures are called epitopes. While an antigen can have multiple epitopes, the immune response, particularly the T cell response, often focuses disproportionately on one or a few of these. This preferential response is known as imunodominance.

Several factors contribute to imunodominance. These include the affinity of the T cell receptor for the specific peptide-MHC complex presenting the epitope, the abundance of the epitope on the antigen, and the efficiency with which the antigen is processed and presented by antigen-presenting cells. The imunodominant epitope effectively "dominates" the immune response, meaning that a larger proportion of antigen-specific T cells will be generated against it compared to T cells responding to other epitopes. This can have significant implications for vaccine design and the development of treatments for infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders, as focusing on the imunodominant epitopes might lead to a more effective and targeted immune response. Understanding imunodominance helps researchers predict and manipulate immune responses.