Question

Many of the microbes that are most important in human infectious diseases multiply in the extracellular spaces of the body. Most intracellular pathogens must spread by moving from cell to cell through the extracellular fluids. Viruses and intracellular bacteria, which need to enter cells in order to grow, spread from cell to cell by binding to specific molecules on their target cell surface. Antibodies that bind to the pathogen can prevent this. What is this process, which is also important in protection from bacterial toxins, called?

Opsonization
Neutralization
Phagocytosis
Pinocytosis
Endocytosis

Answer 1

Neutralization is the process where antibodies prevent pathogens from entering and infecting host cells by binding and blocking key docking sites on the pathogen.

Step-by-step explanation:

The process by which antibodies bind to a pathogen and prevent it from entering and infecting host cells is called neutralization. This immune response is particularly important for protection against viruses and intracellular bacteria that require entry into cells to reproduce.

The antibodies block key sites on the pathogen that are used for docking onto host cells, effectively neutralizing the threat posed by the pathogen. These neutralized antibody-coated pathogens are then filtered out by the spleen and can be eliminated from the body through urine or feces.