Preferred Label : antigenic variation;
MeSH definition : Change in the surface ANTIGEN of a microorganism. There are two different types. One
is a phenomenon, especially associated with INFLUENZA VIRUSES, where they undergo
spontaneous variation both as slow antigenic drift and sudden emergence of new strains
(antigenic shift). The second type is when certain PARASITES, especially trypanosomes,
PLASMODIUM, and BORRELIA, survive the immune response of the host by changing the
surface coat (antigen switching). (From Herbert et al., The Dictionary of Immunology,
4th ed);
MeSH synonym : antigen variation; antigenic variability; variability, antigenic; variation, antigen; variation, antigenic;
MeSH hyponym : antigen switching; Switching, Antigen; Switching, Antigenic; Antigenic Switching;
Related MeSH term : antigenic diversity; Diversity, Antigenic;
MeSH annotation : microbes only; ANTIBODY DIVERSITY is also available;
Wikipedia link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigenic variation;
Origin ID : D000940;
UMLS CUI : C0003319;
Allowable qualifiers
- Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- Record concept(s)
- Semantic type(s)
- UMLS correspondences (same concept)
Change in the surface ANTIGEN of a microorganism. There are two different types. One
is a phenomenon, especially associated with INFLUENZA VIRUSES, where they undergo
spontaneous variation both as slow antigenic drift and sudden emergence of new strains
(antigenic shift). The second type is when certain PARASITES, especially trypanosomes,
PLASMODIUM, and BORRELIA, survive the immune response of the host by changing the
surface coat (antigen switching). (From Herbert et al., The Dictionary of Immunology,
4th ed)
