Production of monoclonal antibodies

• Monoclonal antibodies are identical copies of one type of antibody produced by fusing a spleen cell with a cancerous white blood cell which can be designed to bind to many different substances.
• Antibodies are proteins produced by a type of white blood called lymphocytes which attack pathogens by producing antibodies.
• Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease.
• Antigens are proteins on the surface of a substance (often a pathogen) that trigger an immune response.
• When a pathogen infects the body, the lymphocytes recognise these antigens as foreign and attack them by producing antibodies.
• Antibodies bind to specific antigens on pathogens, meaning only one type of antibody will bind to a matching antigen.
• Scientists discovered that we could make antibodies to bind to antigens on other substances, and not just those on pathogens.
• Once bound, the antigens and the substances they are found on are merged tightly together, making them easier to identify and deal with.
• An antigen is injected into a mouse to start the formation of antibodies.
• The mouse naturally produces lymphocytes, which produce antibodies specific to the antigen.
• Spleen cells which produce the lymphocytes are removed during a small operation.
• The spleen cells are fused with human cancerous white blood cells called myeloma cells to form hybridoma cells.
• These hybridoma cells divide and produce millions of monoclonal antibodies specific to the original antigen.