Monoclonal Antibodies

• Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies from a single clone of cells, produced by taking a cell, cloning it a whole bunch of times, and having all the clones produce antibodies which can then be isolated and called monoclonal antibodies.
• Antibodies are small proteins produced by our white blood cells, specifically B lymphocytes or B cells, to help us fight disease by binding onto foreign material called antigens.
• B cells detect antigens and produce loads of antibodies which can bind to any bacteria that have the same antigens.
• Monoclonal antibodies are normally referring to ones made in a laboratory to make them on a large scale, which are made by combining fast dividing tumor cells with B lymphocyte clones.
• To get the B lymphocytes that produce the correct antibody in the first place, we normally inject an animal like a mouse with the antigen that we want our monoclonal antibody to bind to, because the antigen is now within the mouse, the mouse's immune system will generate a response and produce loads of B lymphocytes that are specific to that antigen.
• Monoclonal antibodies always bind to one specific thing, so by choosing the right B lymphocyte, we can effectively create antibodies that bind to anything we want, such as a particular protein or cell within our body, a harmful pathogen or chemical.
• Monoclonal antibodies can be used to locate and destroy cancer by attaching drugs or radioactive material onto the monoclonal antibodies and then injecting them into the patient, where they'll find their way to the cancer cells and destroy them.