Abstract When
a pathogen elicits a humoral immune response, antibodies are produced
that bind to specific molecular configurations (epitopes) on the
surface of the pathogen. Once the antibodies have bound to the pathogen
it is labeled as foreign and various processes can follow that lead
to its elimination. One such process, antibody-dependent cell-mediated
cytotoxicity (ADCC), involves natural killer (NK) cells binding through
their Fc receptors to IgG antibodies decorating the pathogen. A number
of drugs have been designed to take advantage of this process to
kill appropriate target cells. We describe a model system for studying
the coupling of target cells to surfaces displaying mobile Fc receptors
and present experimental and theoretical results that define the
conditions under which cell adhesion occurs. |