Antigenic Imprinting and Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE)

Dr. Tom Roselle, DC discusses antigenic imprinting and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE.)

Antigenic imprinting, also known as original antigenic sin (OAS), or the Hoskins effect, refers to the inclination of the body’s immune system to preferentially utilize immunological memory based on a previous infection when a second slightly different version of the infection (virus or bacterium) is encountered.

Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE) occurs when the antibodies generated during an immune response recognize and bind to a pathogen, but they are unable to prevent infection. Instead, these antibodies act as a “Trojan horse,” allowing the pathogen to get into cells and exacerbate the immune response.