Antibody and Antigen

For research purposes there were repeated efforts to obtain a laboratory specimen of one single antibody in sufficient quantities to further study the mechanisms and applications of antibody production. Success came in 1975 when two British biologists, César Milstein (1927-) and Georges Kohler (1946-) were able to clone immunoglobulin (Ig) cells of a particular type that came from multiple myeloma cells. Multiple myeloma is a rare form of cancer in which white blood cells keep turning out a specific type of Ig antibody at the expense of others, thus making the individual more susceptible to outside infection. By combining the myeloma cell with any selected antibody-producing cell, large numbers of specific monoclonal antibodies can be produced. Researchers have used other animals, such as mice, to produce hybrid antibodies which increase the range of known antibodies.

Monoclonal antibodies are used as drug delivery vehicles in the treatment of specific diseases, and they also act as catalytic agents for protein reactions in various sites of the body. They are also used for diagnosis of different types of diseases and for complex analysis of a wide range of biological substances. There is hope that they will be as effective as enzymes in chemical and technological processes and that they will play a role in genetic engineering research.