Infection and response - monoclonal antibodies Flashcards
what are monoclonal antibodies
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
how are monoclonal antibodies made
- Inject a mouse with an antigen
- The mouse naturally produces lymphocytes, which produce antibodies specific to the antigen
- We collect the lymphocytes from the mouse
- We fuse the lymphocyte with a tumour cell
- The cell produced is called a hybridoma cell
- We then select a single hybridoma cell producing the antibody we want
- We then allow this hybridoma cell to divide by mitosis to form a clone of identical hybridoma cells
how are monoclonal antibodies used in pregnancy tests ( positive)
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
common side effects of monoclonal antibodies
- fever
- vomiting
- low blood pressure
what type of white blood cells produce antibodies
lymphocytes
why do we fuse a lymphocyte cell with a tumour cell
because lymphocytes taken out will not divide by mitosis, tumour cells are very good at dividing using mitosis
what are hybridoma cells
cells that can produce antibodies and divide using mitosis
what type of white blood cells produce antibodies
lymphocytes
what do lymphocytes do
they produce antibodies against anything the body detects as foreign
why are monoclonal antibodies called that
because they all come from a single hybridoma clone
why are monoclonal antibodies complementary
because they are specific to a single binding site on one protein antigen
advantages of pregnancy test kits
- cheap
- easy to use
- highly accurate
uses of monoclonal antibodies
- 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
how to use monoclonal antibodies to locate a specific molecule
- monoclonal antibodies are attached to fluorescent dyes
- the antibodies then stick to specific molecules within the cell to allow us to see their location
How to use a monoclonal antibodies to treat disease
- 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