Opsonophagocytic Response

The opsonophagocytic reaction is a method for assessing the activity of serum opsonins by the degree of efficiency of phagocytosis of a corpuscular antigen treated with this serum.

This method is based on the ability of opsonins (antibodies and complement components) to bind to the surface of antigen particles and enhance its phagocytosis by neutrophils or macrophages. The efficiency of phagocytosis of opsonized antigen compared to untreated antigen reflects the opsonin activity of the test serum.

The opsonophagocytic reaction is widely used to study immunity in various diseases, assess the functional activity of antibodies, and also to characterize the phagocytic function of leukocytes.

The opsonophagocytic method for the detection and quantification of opsonin activity in blood serum is based on the phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes - phagocytes, also called mononuclear phagocytes, when interacting with a specific antigen (in this case, serum