Cloning antibody

In 1975, the first successful production of MAbs was reported (44). By fusing normal antibody-producing cells with a B-ceU tumor (myeloma), hybridoma cell lines resulted which produced antibodies having a specificity to only one deterrninant on an antigen ie, all the antibodies produced from the cell line are identical. These studies resulted in a standard approach to MAb production. In this approach, the hybridoma cells are produced in large quantities in culture and screened to select specific clones producing the desired MAb using an appropriate assay. The selected clones are then expanded in culture (or in animals), the cells are collected, and the MAbs are extracted and purified. 

Monoclonal antibodies (mAh) are molecules that recognize and bind a specific foreign substance called an antigen. They are produced from a single clone of B lymphocytes. Conventionally, mouse mAh have been generated for experimental and diagnostic use. Techniques have been developed to humanize mouse mAh to facilitate their therapeutic use in humans. It is also now possible to make mAh which are fully human. 

Monoclonal antibodies are derived from a single, monospecific B cell clone. Monoclonal antibodies can be obtained from hybridoma cells that result from the fusion of antibody-producing B cells with immortal cells of a myeloma cell line. 

A number of allergens from both honey bee and vespid venoms have been cloned and expressed by either Escherichia coli or baculovirus-infected insect cells (table 1) phospholipase Aj [20], hyaluronidase [21], acid phosphatase [13] and Api m6 [14] from honey bee venom, as well as antigen 5 [22], phospholipase A and hyaluronidase [23] from vespid venom, and dipeptidylpeptidases from both bee and Vespula venoms [15, 16]. Their reactivity with human-specific IgE antibodies to the respective allergens has been documented [11-16, 22, 23] and their specificity is superior... 

Subsequent antigenic stimulation results in high antibody titres (secondary or memory resporrse) as there is now an expanded clone of cells with memory of the original antigen available to proliferate into mature plasma cells (Fig. 14.1). 

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