Anti-Human Serum
Definition
Antibodies raised in a rabbit (or goat) by repeated injection of human serum. The rabbit's immune system makes IgG against human serum proteins; that antiserum becomes the species-specific reagent.
- Source animal
- Rabbit, sometimes goat
- Production method
- Repeated injection of human serum to raise an immune response
- Active component
- IgG antibodies against human serum proteins
- Forensic use
- Species-of-origin testing on blood and body fluid stains
Common questions
How does anti-human serum tell a stain is human blood and not animal blood?+
The antibodies in the serum bind only to human serum proteins, so when the reagent is reacted against an extract of the stain, a positive reaction such as a precipitin line forms only if human proteins are present, not if the stain came from an animal source.
What can cause a false result with anti-human serum?+
Cross-reactivity with closely related primate proteins, an antiserum batch with poor specificity, or a degraded stain with too little protein left to react are the main sources of error, which is why a control panel of known human and animal samples is run alongside the test.
Related terms
- Antigen-Antibody Reaction
- The specific non-covalent binding between an antigen (a molecule capable of eliciting an immune response) and the antibody produced against it. In...
- COI Barcoding
- DNA-based species identification using a standard 658 bp segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. Sequences are matched against reference...
- Cyt-B PCR
- Amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene. The reference marker for species identification in degraded and trace samples.
- Immunoelectrophoresis
- A two-step technique: proteins are first separated by electrophoresis in agar gel, then antiserum diffuses from a parallel trough and forms precipitin...
- Ouchterlony Double Diffusion
- A gel diffusion technique in which antigen and antibody placed in separate wells in an agar gel diffuse passively toward each other....
- Precipitin Reaction
- The formation of an insoluble antigen-antibody complex (precipitate) when soluble antigen and antibody meet at equivalent concentrations. The Ouchterlony double-diffusion test and...
- Uhlenhuth Test (1901)
- The original precipitin ring test devised by Paul Uhlenhuth in Greifswald. Layering anti-human serum under a dilute bloodstain extract gives a white...