Which antigen is well developed at birth?

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Multiple Choice

Which antigen is well developed at birth?

The key idea is how red cell carbohydrate antigens mature in early life, specifically the I/i system. In newborns, the red cell surface presents mainly the i antigen, which is a linear, unbranched chain. The enzyme that creates branching to form the I antigen is not fully active at birth, so I antigen expression is low. As children grow, these linear i chains are increasingly converted to branched I chains, so I becomes more prominent with age while i diminishes. That’s why i antigen is well developed at birth. The other antigens mentioned depend on different factors or developmental timelines and are not as reliably expressed in newborns.

The key idea is how red cell carbohydrate antigens mature in early life, specifically the I/i system. In newborns, the red cell surface presents mainly the i antigen, which is a linear, unbranched chain. The enzyme that creates branching to form the I antigen is not fully active at birth, so I antigen expression is low. As children grow, these linear i chains are increasingly converted to branched I chains, so I becomes more prominent with age while i diminishes. That’s why i antigen is well developed at birth. The other antigens mentioned depend on different factors or developmental timelines and are not as reliably expressed in newborns.

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