6 Generals Who Fought Against their Home State in the Civil War. For many Americans, choosing a side in the Civil War was no easy task. While most people simply sided with their home state, others struggled with family pressures, personal political beliefs and their devotion to the federal government.
An epitope, also known as antigenic determinant, is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. For example, the epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. The part of an antibody that binds to the epitope is called a paratope. Although epitopes are usually non-self proteins, sequences derived from the host that can be recognized (as in the case of autoimmune diseases) are also epitopes.
Thus, the epitope also is the region of the antigen that is recognized by specific antibodies, which bind to and remove the antigen from the body. Many antigens have a variety of distinct epitopes on their surfaces. Each epitope is capable of reacting with a different B cell antigen receptor. In addition, the blood serum of an immunized person or animal normally contains a mixture of antibodies, all capable of combining with the same antigen but with different epitopes that appear on the surface of the antigen.