An<unk>  is formed from the integral binding of an antibody to a soluble antigen. The bound antigen acting as a specific epitope, bound to an antibody is referred to as a singular<unk> .
After an antigen-antibody reaction, the<unk> es can be subject to any of a number of responses, including<unk> ent deposition, opsonization, phagocytosis, or processing by proteases. Red blood cells carrying CR1-receptors on their surface may bind C3b-decorated<unk> es and transport them to phagocytes, mostly in liver and spleen, and return back to the general circulation.<unk> es may themselves cause disease when they are deposited in organs, e.g. in certain forms of vasculitis. This is the third form of hypersensitivity in the Gell-Coombs classification, called Type III hypersensitivity.<unk>  deposition is a prominent feature of several autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, cryoglobulinemia, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and Sjögren's syndrome.
Immune complex
Autoantibody
Antibodies
Immunotoxin
Immunoglobulin heavy chain
Anti-inhibitor coagulant complex
Antigen
Biological pigment