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Mouse monoclonal antibodies are used to stimulate the production of antibodies in the human immune system to fight diseases. They have been used for medical diagnostics and treatments, but the human body can develop an immune response to mouse proteins. Recombinant DNA processes have been used to replace up to 70% of the mouse antibody protein with a human protein sequence. Recent technology now enables the genetic engineering of 100% human antibodies for research and therapeutic treatments. In vitro production of mouse antibodies is now preferred over the use of adult laboratory animals due to animal rights protests.
Murine antibodies, also often referred to as monoclonal antibodies, are immunoglobulin molecules capable of binding to a specific site on an antigen, which can stimulate the natural production of antibodies in the human immune system. Antibodies are used by the immune system to recognize the presence of foreign material, such as viruses and bacteria, and direct it for destruction. The production of mouse monoclonal antibodies began in 1975, when researchers Niels K. Jerne, Georges JF Kohler, and Cesar Milstein discovered a method of generating specific antibodies from mouse tissue known as a mouse host B cell. The researchers were able to produce cell lines that are still used today as a form of therapy to treat many diseases including cancer and, for this, they won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984. In 1987, the cells of hybridomas, a fusion of a cancerous cell with a normal cell in the laboratory, were used to rapidly produce mouse antibodies, known as Mabs, for medical diagnostics.
The production of antibodies using mouse antibodies has been a breakthrough for medical research and disease treatment. These antibodies have been found to be more abundant and uniform than a person’s natural antibodies and have therefore been seen as a useful way to boost the immune system’s ability to fight disease. Research antibodies are now being produced for a variety of uses, including measuring serum drug levels, identifying infectious agents, blood and tissue typing, classifying various forms of leukemia and lymphoma, and more Still. Customized antibodies also began to be produced in close relatives of mice, including hamsters and rats, as well as other species such as goats and sheep.
As the therapeutic use of mouse antibodies became widespread, problems began to emerge. Initial treatments in patients were well tolerated, but as subsequent treatments progressed, the human body began to demonstrate an immune response to the mouse proteins by generating human antibodies against them. This response is known as the human anti-mouse antibody response (HAMA) and can completely neutralize the beneficial effect of mouse antibody treatment, as well as causing allergic reactions in some patients. In order to minimize adverse events, recombinant DNA processes have been used to replace up to 70% of the mouse antibody protein with a human protein sequence. This refinement process was conducted by Greg Winter in 1986 at the University of Cambridge in the UK and reduced the total amount of original mouse tissue in the antibody to 5-10%, which made it much better tolerated as a therapy .
Recent technology now enables the genetic engineering of 100% human antibodies for research and therapeutic treatments. Additionally, the most effective method for generating large amounts of mouse antibodies in the laboratory, the Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) process, has created painful inflammatory lesions in mice and has become a hot target of protests from animal rights groups such as the United States. American society against vivisection. This has subsequently led to US federal organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and European nations such as Switzerland and Germany requiring in vitro production of mouse antibodies to be used over the use of adult laboratory animals.
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