Monoclonal Antibodies

• What are antibodies produced by?

  B-lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell )
• What are Monoclonal Antibodies?

  Antibodies produced from lots of clones of a single B-lymphocyte
• What is the difference between lymphocytes and tumour cells?

  Lymphocyte - don’t divide easily so you can’t grow more

  Tumour cell - divide lots so can be grown really easily
• What is a hybridoma cell made from?

  B-lymphocytes fused with myeloma ( tumour cell )
• What are hybridomas used for?

  To be cloned in the lab to get lots of identical cells. These can all be divided really quickly to produce the same antibodies ( monoclonal antibodies ).
• Why are monoclonal antibodies useful?

  They will bind to anything you want, this means they can be used to target a specific cell or chemical in the body.
• What is chemotherapy?

  Taking anti-cancer drugs that kill cancer cells.
• What are the side effects to chemotherapy?

  It damages normal body cells as well
• What are tumour markers?

  Proteins found on the cell membrane of cancer cells that aren’t found on normal body cells.
• How can monoclonal antibodies be used to support chemotherapy?

  The anti-cancer drug is attached to the antibodies and given to the patient through a drip. The antibodies target specific cells ( the cancer cells ) because they only bind to the tumour markers. The anti-cancer drug is delivered directly to cancer cells. This means the drug will only kill cancer cells. The side effects are less serious than other types of chemotherapy.
• What is the first step in carrying out an immunoassay?

  Producing monoclonal antibodies that bind to the antigens on a specific pathogen
• Why are monoclonal antibodies labelled with a radioactive element or a fluorescent tag?

  To detect the presence of antigens in the sample
• What should be done after adding the sample of body fluid and antibodies together in an immunoassay?

  Remove any unbound antibodies from the sample
• What does it indicate if a radioactive or fluorescent label is detected in the immunoassay?


  It indicates that the labelled antibodies have bound to the antigens, meaning the patient is infected by the pathogen
• What are the main steps involved in carrying out an immunoassay?

  1. Produce monoclonal antibodies that bind to the antigens on a specific pathogen.

  2. Label the antibodies with a radioactive element or fluorescent tag.

  3. Add the patient’s body fluid sample to the labelled antibodies.

  4. Remove any unbound antibodies from the sample.

  5. Measure the amount of radioactivity or fluorescence.

  6. Determine if the patient is infected based on the detection of the label.
• What are immunoassays?

  Tests used to detect pathogens