Monoclonal antibodies

• antibodies are produced by b lymphocytes
• monoclonal antibodies are produced from many clones of a single white blood cell. This means that all the antibodies are identical and will only target one specific protein antigen
• tumor cells divide very easily
• Mice lymphocytes and tumour cells are combined to make a special type of cell called a hybridoma.
• hybridomas can produce specific antibodies and divide rapidly.
• monoclonal antibodies


  identical antibodies
• monoclonal antibodies can be used in pregnancy tests
• a hormone called HCG is found in women's urine when they are pregnant. Pregnancy tests detect this hormone
• pregnancy tests


  the stick you wee on has some antibodies to the HCG hormone with blue beads attached. the test strip has some more antibodies to the hormones stuck onto it.
• pregnancy tests


  if you are pregnant the hormone binds to the antibodies on the blue beads. The urine moves up the stick carrying the hormone and the beads and the hormone bind to the antibodies on the strip so the blue beads get stuck on the strip turning it blue
• pregnancy test


  if you are not pregnant and you wee on the stick urine will still move up the stick, carrying the blue beads but there is nothing to stick the blue beads onto the test strip so it doesn't go blue.
• different cells in the body have different antigens on their cell surface. So you can make monoclonal antibodies that will bind to specific cells in the body
• tumour markers


  antigens in cancer cells found on the cell membrane that arent found on normal body cells
• you can make monoclonal antibodies that buy into tumour markers
• an anti-cancer drug can be attached to monoclonal antibodies. this chemical stops cancer cells growing and dividing. These antibodies are given to the patient through a drip - these antibodies only bind into the tumour markers in cancer cells. it kills the cancer cells but not the normal body cells
• cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radial therapy can affect normal body cells as well as killing cancer cells whereas monoclonal antibodies target specific cells so there are fewer side effects
• monoclonal antibodies cause more side effects than originally expected such as fever, vomiting and low blood pressure. This means they are not as widely used as treatments scientists originally thought they might be
• monoclonal antibodies can be used to

  • bind to other hormones and chemicals in the blood to measure levels
  • test blood samples in Laboratories for certain pathogens that bind to other hormones and chemicals in the blood to measure levels
  • locate specific molecules on a tissue or cell
• monoclonal antibodies are made that will bind to a specific molecule you are looking for. The antibodies are then bound to a fluorescent dye. If the molecules are present, the Monoclonal antibodies will attach to them, and they can be detected using the dye.