Cross-reactivity characterization specific antibody

Because the Department intends to rely on this technology for regulatory purposes, the antibodies must be well characterized with respect to specificity, cross reactivity and other parameters. However, some individuals, wishing to protect their ability to patent, license or market antibodies and related chemicals, are reluctant to share information about the antibodies they have developed, because they are unsure about how the information might be used. 

The three best-characterized monoclonal antibodies to desmin are designated D33, DER-11, and DEB-5. By the Western blot technique, they have been shown to recognize desmin epitopes between residues 324 and 415 and to have no cross-reactivity with other lEPs. These reagents show tissue-specificity but species-non-specificity. 

Generally, antibodies that are used as a secondary reagent are available commercially, but analyte-specific antibodies are often custom produced. The use of commercial antibodies from reputable suppliers has several advantages including the availability of a CoA, MSDS, and cross-reactivity data. Antibodies produced in-house should be similarly characterized, and the information should be documented to comply with appropriate regulatory requirements. 

DNA vaccines are derived from bacterial DNA plasmid and, thus, are able to stimulate anti-DNA antibodies. If these antibodies are cross-reactive with host chromosomal DNA, they could act like autoantibodies and induce autoimmune diseases (such as systemic lupus erythematosus) characterized by the accumulation of DNA, antinuclear antibodies, and complement in various organs along with local inflammatory responses. Specific lupus-prone mouse strains exist that develop a similar disease. Repeated application of DNA vaccines to these mice did not alter the onset or the course of the disease. In normal mice, anti-DNA antibodies were induced by DNA vaccines, but these remained far below those levels... 

Since LLNL-Hept-2 binds all of the chlorinated cyclodiene insecticides tested, a positive response in the cELISA represents an integrated value and does not identify a specific insecticide. Uncertainty about the exact composition of the contamination is a result of cross-reactivity with related chemicals and occurs even with monoclonal antibodies. However, monoclonal antibodies are invariant reagents that need to be extensively characterized only once to determine the range of compounds detected and their relative sensitivities. In contrast, polyclonal antibodies need to be... 

Characterization of antibodies is useful in determining antibody class, binding kinetics, epitope specificity, cross-reactivity, and antibody affinity. Table 2 illustrates some of the techniques used to assess these characteristics. 

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