Card 103 / 106: Would a denatured antigen be expected to have the same epitopes as its native (non-denatured) counterpart? Why?
A) Yes-epitopes are just a sequence of amino acids in a row, so they do not change regardless of 3D shape of the protein molecule they lie within.
B) No-ALL epitopes are dependent on being in the proper original 3D conformation in the protein they arise within. Denaturing them would destroy them by destroying that conformation.
C) Yes AND No-SOME epitopes are dependent on 3D conformation (conformational epitopes), while some simply depend on the primary order of amino acids (linear epitopes). So, really, it depends on the particular epitope.
D) Yes-all proteins must be broken down into individual epitopes for presentation to B and T cells on MHC molecules, so each antigen protein MUST be denatured to yield ANY epitopes.

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