Polyclonal origin

Traditionally, immunohistochemical studies have been performed with antibodies of polyclonal origin. Antibodies are said to be polyclonal when they are collected from different clones of cells, after a significant immune response. Specifically, the presence of an antigen causes lymphocytes in an exposed area to... 

The only limitation to the use of this strategy is the necessity for the antibody molecule to be glycosylated. Antibodies of polyclonal origin (from antisera) are usually glycosylated and work well in this procedure, but other antibody preparations may not possess polysaccharide. In particular, some monoclonals may not be post-... 

In summary, CACO-2 cells express many enzymes characteristic for intestinal cells involved in drag metabolism. The major drug metabolising enzyme, CYP 3A, is active only in selected clones pointing to polyclonal origin of CACO-2 and the necessity to characterize CACO-2 cells extensively for growth and experimental conditions used for given experiments. 

Noguchi S, Aihara T, Motomura K, et al. Demonstration of polyclonal origin of giant fibroadenoma of the breast. Virchows Arch. 1995 427 343-347. 

Substances that cause cells, particularly lymphocytes, to undergo cell division. Mitogens are also referred to as polyclonal activators, since they stimulate proliferation of lymphocytes irrespective of their clonal origin. The best known mitogens are phytohemagglutinines isolated from certain plants. 

We therefore developed an ELISA for the detection of soybean protein in processed foods using polyclonal antibodies raised against p34 as a soybean marker protein and using a specific extraction buffer (Morishita et ah, 2008). The p34 protein, originally characterized as an oil... 

Table 13.1 Polyclonal antibody preparations of human or animal origin used to induce passive immunity against specific biological agents...

Antiserums produced in this manner are known as polyclonal because they contain many antibodies produced by different lymphocytes, each one responding either to different antigenic determinants of the original antigen or to other immunogenic substances in the injected material. Such a range of antibodies reduces the specificity of the method. 

The technique described here is for use with monoclonal primary antibodies of mouse origin, but can easily be adapted for use with polyclonal antibodies from other species (i.e., rabbit). This method uses a secondary biotin-labeled antibody and a detection system that employs a biotin-avidin horseradish peroxidase complex linker step, the so-called ABC (avidin-biotin complex) detection system (5) (see Chapter 25). In this detection system, avidin acts as a bridge between the biotinylated secondary antibody and a biotin-labeled peroxidase enzyme. The anchored enzyme, in the presence of H2O2 can then convert the substrate, diaminobenzidine, to a brown or black reaction product that is easily identifiable in the tissue section. 

Figure 2.4 The generation of antibodies of several clonal origins (polyclonal antibodies) with antibodies from each clonal origin (monoclonal antibodies A, B and C) recognizing a distinct epitope on the antigen. (From An Introduction to Biochemical Toxicology, 3rd ed., E. Hodgson and R. C. Smart, eds., Wiley, 2001.)...

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