Monoclonal Antibodies + Pregnancy tests - Paper 1

Question 1

What is a monoclonal antibody?

Answer 1

Antibodies that are clones of a single parent B-lymphocyte and are specific to one protein antigen

An antibody is a small protein which triggers an immune response to a specific antigen

Question 2

Where are monoclonal antibodies made?

Answer 2

In a lab

Question 3

Give the stages for producing monoclonal antibodies

Answer 3

Inject mouse with the antigen/pathogen (that we want the antibodies to bind to)
Allow mouse to develop an immune response
Harvest their antibody-producing B-lymphocytes
Fuse the B-lymphocytes with a myeloma cell to produce a hybridoma cell (which can both produce antibodies and divide rapidly)
Allow hybridoma cell to replicate (in a petri dish)
Harvest the monoclonal antibodies they produce

An antigen is a unique chemical on the surface of a cell which triggers an immune response
An immune response is
A myeloma cell is a fast diving tumour cell

Question 4

What is an immune response?

Answer 4

The body’s mechanism for recognising and eliminating pathogens

Question 5

What is a hybridoma cell a fusion of?

Answer 5

A myeloma cell and an antibody-producing B-lymphocyte

Question 6

What is a myeloma cell?

Answer 6

A rapidly diving tumour cell

Question 7

What is a B-lymphocyte?

Answer 7

A type of white blood cell which produces antibodies

An antibody is a small protein which triggers an immune response to a specific antigen

Question 8

What is a hybridoma cell?

Answer 8

A fusion of a myeloma cell and a B-lymphocyte which is used to rapidly produce monoclonal antibodes

Question 9

What type of cell produces antibodies?

Answer 9

B-lymphocyte

An antibody is a small protein which triggers an immune response to a specific antigen
A B-lymphocyte is NOT an antibody itself, rather it is the WBC which produces them

Question 10

Name the type of white blood cell which produces antibodies

Answer 10

B-lymphocyte

Question 11

What do antibodies bind to?

Answer 11

Antigens with a complementary shape

Question 12

What is an antigen?

Answer 12

A unique chemical on the surface of a pathogen which triggers an immune response (because our body detects it as foreign)

A pathogen is a disease-causing organism

Question 13

What is the difference between an antigen and a pathogen?

Answer 13

A pathogen is a disease-causing organism whereas an antigen is the molecule on the surface of the pathogen which triggers an immune response

Question 14

What is a pathogen?

Answer 14

A disease-causing organism

Question 15

What would you find on the surface of pathogens?

Answer 15

Antibodies

Question 16

Why do we need to fuse the B-lymphocytes with myeloma cells?

Answer 16

B-lymphocytes don’t divide quickly enough for commercial production
Fusion of B-lymphocytes and myeloma cells allows large quantities of specific monoclonal antibodies to be made quicker

Question 17

Where may you leave a hybridoma cell to divide?

Answer 17

In a petri dish

Question 18

Why is it desirable to speed up the production of monoclonal antibodies?

Answer 18

B-lymphocytes divide quite slowly, therefore, to produce more monoclonal antibodies, it is desirable to speed up division by fusing a B-lymphocyte with a rapidly dividing tumour cell called a myeloma

A B-lymphocyte is NOT an antibody itself, rather it is the WBC which produces them

Question 19

How are the B-lymphocytes we want to clone sourced?

Answer 19

By injecting an animal (like a mouse) with the complementary antigen to the antibody we want to produce
We then allow the mouse to develop an immune response, and then harvest the B-lymphocytes that it produces (which will be specific to that antigen)

Question 20

What is an antibody?

Answer 20

A small protein produced by a B-lymphocyte, triggering an immune response to a specific antigen

A B-lymphocyte is NOT an antibody, rather the WBC which produces them

Question 21

Name two things which could be attached to the bottom of a monoclonal antibody

Answer 21

Drugs
Radioactive material

Question 22

Give 3 uses of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 22

Pregnancy testing
Identifying disease
Diagnosing and treating cancer

This can be done because substances (e.g. drugs, radioactive material and other substances) can be attached to the bottom of monoclonal antibodies to be delivered directly to cells with the complementary antigen

Question 23

Which hormone does a pregnancy test detect?

Answer 23

hCG

Question 24

What type of test is a pregnancy test?

Answer 24

A lateral flow test

Question 25

Where is a pregnant woman's hCG excreted which enables pregnancy testing?

Answer 25

In their urine

Question 26

Which hormone are the monoclonal antibodies on a pregnancy test strip specific to?

Answer 26

hCG

Question 27

In typical pregancy tests, the same monoclonal antibodies can be found in two places on the test strip. Give 2 main differences between these

Answer 27

On the part where you wee, the monoclonal antibodies are **attached to a coloured bead** and are **free to move** Whereas, further down, there is a **fixed line** of the same monoclonal antibodies which aren't themselves attached to a coloured bead but, if hCG is present in the urine, the blue-beaded monoclonal antibodies will bind to these, leaving a visible blue line

Question 28

A typical pregnancy test would show two lines for a positive result. If one indicates the presence of hCG, what is the other used as?

Answer 28

A control to determine the validity of the result ## Footnote Perhaps this just determines that you really have weed on it?? It shows the presence of urea maybe??