Читать книгу Immunology - Richard Coico - Страница 110

The second feature that determines whether a compound is immunogenic is its molecular weight. In general, small compounds that have a molecular weight of less than 1000 Da (e.g., penicillin, progesterone, aspirin) are not immunogenic; those of molecular weights between 1000 and 6000 Da (e.g., insulin, adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH]) may or may not be immunogenic; and those of molecular weights greater than 6000 Da (e.g., albumin, tetanus toxin) are generally immunogenic. In short, relatively small substances have decreased immunogenicity whereas large substances have increased immunogenicity.