Monoclonal antibodies Flashcards
1
Q
What are antibodies produced by?
A
- By a specific white blood cell, known as a B-Lymphocyte
2
Q
What are monoclonal antibodies?
A
- Produced from lots of clone of the same white blood cell. This means that all of the antibodies are the same and will only target one specific antigen
3
Q
Where are monoclonal antibodies made?
A
- In the lab
4
Q
What is a hybridoma?
A
- B-Lymphocytes produce the antibodies but they don’t reproduce very quickly. To overcome this, we bind them to rapidly reproducing tumour cells. This is known as a hybridoma
5
Q
How are monoclonal antibodies made?
A
- We inject an animal (usually a mouse) with the antigen of the substance. The B-Lymphocytes will then produce specific antibodies to this antigen
- We extract the B-Lymphocytes from the animal and bind it to a rapidly reproducing tumour cell. This is known as a hybridoma
- We grow the hybridoma in a petri dish and extract the monoclonal antibodies
- We can then attach any required substances (drugs, radioactive substances, etc…) onto the bottom of the antibodies and use them how we would like
6
Q
What are some pros and cons of monoclonal antibodies?
A
- Pros - only target specific antigens, doesn’t harm any neighbouring, healthy cells
- Cons - more side effects than initially expected
7
Q
How does a pregnancy test work?
A
- Tests for the hormone HCG which is excreted in the urine of pregnant woman
8
Q
How do pregnancy tests use monoclonal antibodies?
A
- Woman wees on the pregnancy strip. This part of the strip contains blue beads which are specific to the antigen of the HCG. Therefore, if HCG is present, it will bind on to the blue beads. The beads are FREE TO MOVE
- The urine washes the HCG up the strip. Here, there is a section of antibodies which are also specific to HCG however, they are FIXED IN PLACE. Thereforem these will bind onto the HCG which is also binded to the blue beads, THis will show a blue strip. line - indicating a positive pregnancy result
