Monoclonal Antibody Production

Monoclonal antibodies also termed mAB, are antibodies produced by a B-cell clone. In monoclonal antibody production, one can not only generate antibodies against proteins but chemicals as well.

Monoclonal Antibody Introduction

Monoclonal Antibody Production History

Monoclonal Antibody Production Diagram

mAb Production Services

mAb Production Protocol

Introduction to Monoclonal Production

Monoclonal antibody production is a process in which large quantities of antibody targeted against a particular antigen, X, can be produced.  Briefly, Monoclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing mice with antigen X, to stimulate the production of antibodies targeted against X.  The B-cells or antibody secreting cells are isolated from the mouse's spleen.  Antibody secreting B-cells that secrete antigenX-specific antibodies are then selected using a B-cell selection assay.  These B-cells are then fused with Tumour cells grown in culture, in the presence of PEG (poly-ethylene glycol). This results in a hybridoma. Hybridomas are then screened for antibody production against antigenX. Each hybridoma cell produces relatively large quantities of identical antibody molecules. Hybridomas are then allowed to multiply in culture,thus generating a large population of cells, each of which produces identical antibody molecules.

Furthermore, once a monoclonal antibody is made, it can be used as a specific probe to track down and purify the specific protein that induced its formation.  Given almost any substance or compound (even chemicals), it is possible to create monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to that substance.  These monoclonal antibodies can then be used to detect or purify that substance. In Molecular Biology and Medicine,this has become a tool for the study of biological processeses.

Monoclonal Antibody Production History

Monoclonal antibodies were wanted by the research community for a long time because they would have unique properties. These included the fact that monoclonal antibodies would be antibodies of a single specificity that were all built alike because they were synthesized by a single plasma cell clone, and this clone could be made into a hybridoma by fusion, and thus grown indefinetely.

However, monoclonal antibodies could not be produced until 1975, when they were produced in mice using a technique described by Köhler and Milstein et al.. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984 (along with Jerne) for their work.

Köhler and Milstein were able to find a way to combine the unlimited growth potential of myeloma cells with the predetermined antibody specificity of normal spleen immune cells. They were able to combine myeloma cells (cancerous B-cells) with antibody-secreting cells from an immunized mouse by fusing the cells together in a technique called somatic cell hybridization, resulting in a hybridoma.

Monoclonal Antibody Production Diagram

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