IC2 Flashcards
List 2 types of immunotherapies and how they work
- Activation type of immunotherapies: involve use of agents that augment and/or reestablish the immune system’s ability to prevent and fight the disease.
- Suppression type of immunotherapies: involve use of agents that reduce or suppress an immune response.
What is an immunotherapy?
Treatment of a disease by intervening the immune system.
Examples of therapeutic strategies in immunotherapy
- Cytokines (humoral component of innate & adaptive immune response)
- Antibodies (humoral component of adaptive immune response)
- T cells (include cell- based immunotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors)
- Cancer vaccines and many more due to advances in molecular cloning techniques and biotechnology!
Properties/ facts of cytokine
• Though belonging to diverse groups, are usually small proteins of < 20 kDa.
• Are usually glycoproteins (glycosylated). Glycosylation sometimes not essential for cytokine’s biological activity, sometimes contributes to half-life of cytokine.
• Usually have short half-lives.
• Are secreted out of the cell producing it. Usually act at short range in an autocrine (i.e. on the cells that produce them) or paracrine (i.e. on cells nearby) manner.
• Binds specifically to its corresponding cytokine receptor expressed on surface of effector cell -> trigger biological effects.
Two types of IFN and example
- Type I (IFN alpha, beta)
- Type II (IFN gamma)
Which cell produces IFN-alpha?
leukocytes
what cell produces IFN-beta?
somatic cells, including fibroblasts and epithelial cells.
what condition is IFN-beta effective against?
multiple sclerosis
what cell produces IFN-gamma?
T lymphotcytes
production of antiserum
- whole blood from immunized animal collected → left to clot or add coagulant → clotting factors removed → serum obtained as supernatant after centrifugation to separate cellular components.
- Raw serum further purified by eliminating serum proteins and enriching the fraction of Ig that reacts with the target Ag (by protein A/G purification or immunoaffinity column chromatography)
what is an antiserum?
Animal sera containing polyclonal antibodies raised by immunizing the animal with a particular antigen.
drawback of antiserum
immunogenicity issues
what is a monoclonal antibody?
Ab produced from 1 B-cell clone, recognize just 1 epitope of the antigen.
characteristic of monoclonal Ab and its usefulness
• Possess high specificity → Useful for:
– Recombination protein purification work (used in immunoaffinity chromatographic purification of proteins).
• Possess high homogeneity → Effects obtained highly reproducible → Useful for:
– Commercial development into target-specific therapeutic molecules for treatment of diseases with less side effects.
– Commercial development into diagnostic test kits.
– Many experimental research techniques.
characteristic of monoclonal Ab and its usefulness
• Possess high specificity → Useful for:
– Recombination protein purification work (used in immunoaffinity chromatographic purification of proteins).
• Possess high homogeneity → Effects obtained highly reproducible → Useful for:
– Commercial development into target-specific therapeutic molecules for treatment of diseases with less side effects.
– Commercial development into diagnostic test kits.
– Many experimental research techniques.
Limitations of murine Mabs
• human-anti-mouse antibody response (HAMA) characterized by joint swelling, rashes and kidney failure
• Fail to trigger a number of effector functions.
• Shorter half-lives (30 - 40 h)
% of human sequences in chimeric Mab and how is this achieved?
• To replace amino acid sequences on the CH and CL of murine Mab that are not essential for antigen binding with human sequences. Antigen-binding sequences in VH and VL fragments conserved.
• Chimeric Mab retains antigen selectivity and affinity similar to parent murine Mab.
• ~ 75% human
% of human sequences in humanised Mab and how is this achieved?
• Replacing all mouse amino acid sequences except the hypervariable CDR domains of Ig (reside within the VH and VL fragments) in chimeric Mabs → Humanized Mabs.
• > 90% human (reduced immunogenicity as compared to chimeric Mabs).
remaining immunogenicity concerns for recombinant human monoclonal antibodies
impurity proteins from mammalian host cells not removed