Infection and response - monoclonal antibodies

Question 1

what are monoclonal antibodies

Answer 1

antibodies that are produced from a single clone of cells. The
antibodies are specific to one binding site on one protein antigen and so
are able to target a specific chemical or specific cells in the body

Question 2

how are monoclonal antibodies made

Answer 2

1. Inject a mouse with an antigen
2. The mouse naturally produces lymphocytes, which produce antibodies specific to the antigen
3. We collect the lymphocytes from the mouse
4. We fuse the lymphocyte with a tumour cell
5. The cell produced is called a hybridoma cell
6. We then select a single hybridoma cell producing the antibody we want
7. We then allow this hybridoma cell to divide by mitosis to form a clone of identical hybridoma cells

Question 3

how are monoclonal antibodies used in pregnancy tests ( positive)

Answer 3

Pregnant women produce a hormone called HCG.
1. Pregnant woman urinates on the test strip
2. Test strip is designed to bind with a hormone called HCG which is found only in the urine of pregnant women
3. Monoclonal antibodies are attached to the end of a pregnancy test stick onto which a woman urinates
4. If she is pregnant, HCG will be present in her urine and will bind to the monoclonal antibodies on the test stick. This will cause a change in colour or pattern which will indicate pregnancy.
5. If you’re not pregnant, the urine still moves up the stick, but there is no colour change as there are no antibodies to bind to the blue strip

Question 4

common side effects of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 4

• fever
• vomiting
• low blood pressure

Question 5

what type of white blood cells produce antibodies

Answer 5

lymphocytes

Question 6

why do we fuse a lymphocyte cell with a tumour cell

Answer 6

because lymphocytes taken out will not divide by mitosis, tumour cells are very good at dividing using mitosis

Question 7

what are hybridoma cells

Answer 7

cells that can produce antibodies and divide using mitosis

Question 8

what type of white blood cells produce antibodies

Answer 8

lymphocytes

Question 9

what do lymphocytes do

Answer 9

they produce antibodies against anything the body detects as foreign

Question 10

why are monoclonal antibodies called that

Answer 10

because they all come from a single hybridoma clone

Question 11

why are monoclonal antibodies complementary

Answer 11

because they are specific to a single binding site on one protein antigen

Question 12

advantages of pregnancy test kits

Answer 12

• cheap
• easy to use
• highly accurate

Question 13

uses of monoclonal antibodies

Answer 13

• pregnancy tests
• measure the amount of hormones in the blood
• to detect pathogens in the blood
• to locate or identify specific molecules in a cell or tissue
• treating diseases

Question 14

how to use monoclonal antibodies to locate a specific molecule

Answer 14

• monoclonal antibodies are attached to fluorescent dyes
• the antibodies then stick to specific molecules within the cell to allow us to see their location

Question 15

How to use a monoclonal antibodies to treat disease

Answer 15

• make the monoclonal antibodies specific to one kind of cell
• attach a radioactive substance or toxic drug to the antibody
• when the antibody is injected into the blood, it attaches to the cancer cells
• the radioactive substance or toxic drugs stops the cancer cells from growing and dividing

Question 16

advantages and disadvantages of using monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer

Answer 16

• the antibody delivers the substance specifically to the cancer cells without harming other cells in the body

DISADVANTAGES
- they produce very harmful side effects, so only a few drugs in use