What type of protein is produced by the body to destroy or inactivate antigens that enter?

The body produces antibodies to specifically target and neutralize antigens, which are substances that the immune system recognizes as foreign or harmful, such as pathogens like bacteria and viruses. Antibodies are a type of protein known as immunoglobulins, produced by B cells in response to the presence of an antigen. Each antibody is designed to bind to a specific antigen, facilitating its destruction by various mechanisms, such as marking it for destruction by other immune cells or neutralizing its harmful effects.

Antigens are not produced by the body; rather, they are the foreign molecules that provoke an immune response. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions but do not directly interact with antigens in the way antibodies do. Hormones are signaling molecules that regulate physiological processes in the body but play no direct role in the immune response against antigens.