Why does the body produce 5 different classes of antibodies? Look at the question from evolutionary and practical perspectives. What advantages/disadvantages do making different classes of antibodies have?

Classes of Antibodies

Antibodies play a significant role in the body, including binding and inactivating foreign substances such as toxins. Equally, antibodies often activate the body’s complement system in order to destroy bacterial cells by lysis (Laustsen et al., 2018). Based on these assessments, the body produces five classes of antibodies namely IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, and IgE (known as isotypes). The classification of the antibodies relates to the type of heavy chain constant region. Moreover, the antibodies’ distribution throughout the body depends on their functions at specific points within the human body. Antibodies represent proteins that the immune system produces from the body’s reserves of immunoglobulin protein. In this context, a person’s body has a healthy immune structure that produces antibodies such as the five classes to protect one from diseases (Pedreño et al., 2019). Cells within the immune system produce antibodies after reacting with foreign protein antigens, such as pollen, toxins, or infectious organisms.

For a long period, the human race has dealt with different types of diseases. During the early period, many people could not overcome the attacks of specific bacterial or viral infections because of weak immune system or strength of the bacteria and viruses associated with certain ailments. However, over time, researchers have developed drugs and vaccines to boost the immune system. Equally, the immune system has evolved over time and can deal with some of the bacterial and viral infections on its own. Dietary changes such as the consumption of lean proteins has helped individuals to produce antibodies that boost the immune system (Laustsen et al., 2018). IgM antibodies remain the largest in the body as compared to the others. The IgM antibodies deal with foreign infection or substances first and cause other immune cells to participate in the process of destroying foreign substances.

The process of making different classes of antibodies enables the body to have a strong defense mechanism to fight the various bacterial and viral infections. As indicated previously, the five different classes of antibodies have heavy chains that respond to specific requirements within the body. For example, the body produces IgG as the primary antibody during any bacterial or virus infection. The body continues to produce antibodies even when there is no imminent attack or infection. The different classes of antibodies that the body produces contribute to class switching, which helps to deal with the various types of infections. Irrespective of the benefits of antibodies in boosting the immune system, excessive production damages the human body, especially if no active infection exists (Pedreño et al., 2019). The high or low production of the different classes of antibodies leads to damage to tissues and organ problems such as kidney damage.