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Types of Non-Harmful Antigens

Antigens are substances that incite your immune system to respond by producing antibodies. They include both foreign substances, such as pollen, and substances made by your own body, such as cell tissue. In your body, both B and T cells recognize antigens and respond to them differently. Antigens can also be used to create vaccines. Certain harmless antigens are what determine a person's blood type.

  1. Foreign

    • Antigens include foreign particles such as pollen, viruses, bacteria and chemicals. These particles can enter the body through an infection. Technically, the antigen is not the bacterium or virus itself, but substances both on the surface and inside them that identify them to cells. These antigens are helpful in some instances, as they can be isolated and used to create vaccines against infections. In this situation, the antigen is useful rather than harmful.

    Produced

    • The body can produce its own antigens, which include tissue cells and bacterial toxins. In some circumstances, the body's own proteins provoke a response from the immune system that makes these proteins considered antigens. The only difference between normal cell tissue and cell tissue that is an antigen is the body's immune response to the tissue.

    Allergens

    • Antigens can in some situations cause allergic reactions, in which case they are called allergens. One common allergen is pollen, which affects some people but does not affect others. Whether or not pollen is an allergen depends on the way your body reacts to it. For many individuals, pollen is a harmless antigen.

    Blood

    • Your blood type depends upon a combination of antigens and antibodies. Blood types include A, B, AB and O. The ABO blood types are mainly determined by the specific combination of two antigens and two antibodies. The presence or absence of an antigen determines a person's blood type. For instance, the A antigen marks your blood as type A. Because people with type O blood don't produce ABO antigens, their blood won't be rejected by people with other ABO blood types. However, they can only receive type O blood. The antigens in your own blood are harmless to you.

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