Monoclonal antibodies are identical antibodies produced by cloned cells, with uses ranging from drug testing to cancer treatment. They are made in laboratories using mice, but researchers are exploring ways to produce them without using live animals or humans.
Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies that are identical because they are produced by specialized cells that have been cloned. There are numerous uses for monoclonal antibodies, ranging from drug testing to cancer treatment, and they are produced in laboratories around the world. Like many medical breakthroughs, monoclonal antibodies are also accompanied by some controversy, because they are made in mice and there is no logistical way to make them from human cells.
Antibodies are developed by the body when it is exposed to foreign substances. They remain in the body, imparting immune strength long after exposure has ended, and are also highly refined, designed to distinguish between very similar foreign substances. Precise targeting of antibodies became a topic of interest in the 20th century, and the first monoclonal antibodies were developed in the 1920s, allowing researchers to produce large numbers of pure antibodies in a laboratory setting.
To produce these antibodies, a mouse is exposed to an antigen and cells are harvested from the spleen. These cells are grown with cells from a myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, to create an infinitely replicating hybridoma. Replicates can be tested to find cells that produce the desired antibody or antibodies, and these cells can be cloned and used to build up a large reservoir of monoclonal antibodies. The resulting antibodies are pure, with no other substances, making them superior to antiserum, and will continue to reproduce indefinitely, thanks to the immortal nature of the tumor cells used to make the hybridoma.
Once produced, monoclonal antibodies can be used in screening tests. For example, a doctor examining medications or the presence of disease might expose a patient’s blood sample to monoclonal antibodies that will react with the antigen in question if present, alerting the doctor to the presence of whatever it is they are testing. Monoclonal antibodies can also be modified so that they can be used in purification, by binding to a particular antigen and allowing all other substances in a sample to be washed away.
For cancer treatment, monoclonal antibodies have enormous potential, because they can be mixed with radioactive agents or other compounds and introduced into the body, targeting cancer cells, and cancer cells only. Products used in medical treatment all have names ending in -mab, for “monoclonal antibody.
Researchers are reluctant to develop these special antibodies with human cells because they believe it is unethical to expose humans to antigens. Some researchers have suggested that advances in biosciences will make it possible to produce monoclonal antibodies in vitro, thus allowing researchers to avoid using live animals or people.
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