Hapten
/ˈhæptən/noun
A small molecule that can trigger an immune response only after binding to a larger carrier protein.
Did you know?Immunologist Karl Landsteiner coined “hapten” in 1906 while studying how seemingly insignificant chemicals could become antigenic when attached to proteins.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἅπτω (háptō)
“I fasten, attach, or touch”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἁπτός (haptós)
“Fastened, attached, or capable of being touched”
1906
German
Hapten
“A coined immunological term for a small substance that can attach to a carrier and provoke specificity”
20th Century
English
hapten
“A small antigenic molecule requiring attachment to a larger protein to stimulate an immune response”