the immune system (antibodies in medicine)

Question 1

what is a monoclonal antibody?

Answer 1

antibody produced from a single group of genetically identical B cells

Question 2

how can monoclonal antibodies be produced?

Answer 2

immunise a mouse to stimulate antibody production
isolate antibody forming cells
grow tumour cells in a tissue culture
fuse the antibody forming cells and tumour cells to create a hybridoma
screen
clone
then isolate monoclonal antibodies

Question 3

how can monoclonal antibodies be used to target cancer cells?

Answer 3

make monoclonal antibodies that bind to tumour markers (type of antigen)
attach anticancer drugs to antibodies
when antibodies come into contact with cancer cells, bind to the tumour markers
so the drug will accumulate where there are cancer cells

Question 4

how can monoclonal antibodies be used in pregnancy testing?

Answer 4

application area contains antibodies for hCG bound to a coloured bead
when urine is applied to the application area, hCG will bind to the antibody on the beads, forming an antigen antibody complex
urine will move up the test strip and carry any beads with it
test strip contains antibodies to hCG that are immobilised
if hCG is present, the test strip changes colour because immobilised antibodies bind to hCG
if no hCG present, beads pass through area without binding- no colour change

Question 5

what does ELISA stand for?

Answer 5

enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Question 6

what does an ELISA test allow you to do?

Answer 6

see if a patient has any antibodies to a certain antigen

Question 7

how does an ELISA test work?

Answer 7

enzyme attached to an antibody
this enzyme can react to form a coloured product
if there is a colour change, antigen or antibody of interest is present

Question 8

how can an ELISA test be used to detect HIV?

Answer 8

HIV antigen bound to the bottom of a well in a well plate
sample of a patient’s blood plasma added to the well
if there are HIV specific antibodies, these will bind to the HIV antigen
well washed to remove unbound antibodies
secondary antibody with attached enzyme added (which can bind to HIV antibody), well washed out
solution added to the well, containing a substrate which can react with the secondary antibody= coloured product