by Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are antibodies produced by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell. MAbs can be mass-produced in a laboratory to detect, prevent or treat diseases like cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. They have high specificity and affinity for one particular antigen. This makes them useful as diagnostic reagents to identify the presence of certain proteins or pathogens in samples.
Production of Monoclonal Antibody Diagnostic Reagents
Monoclonal Antibody Diagnostic Reagents are produced through a process called hybridoma technology. White blood cells called B cells from the spleen or lymph nodes of an immunized animal are isolated. These B cells produce antibodies against the specific antigen the animal was immunized with. The B cells are then fused with immortal myeloma cells to generate hybridoma cells that are immortal and can produce identical antibody clones indefinitely in culture. The hybridoma cells are screened and cells producing the desired mAb are isolated and grown in large batches in bioreactors. The mAbs are purified from this culture fluid.
Applications of mAbs in Diagnostics
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA): ELISA uses unlabeled mAbs coupled with an enzyme to detect the presence of a target antigen. After incubating the antigen/sample with the mAb, an enzyme labeled secondary antibody binds to the mAb. Adding a substrate produces a color change proportional to the amount of antigen in the sample. ELISAs are commonly used to detect microbes, proteins and hormones.
Immunohistochemistry: Labeled mAbs are used on fixed tissue sections to detect target antigens in situ and determine their localization in cells and tissues. This helps diagnose and classify tumors as well as observe normal and pathological tissue morphology.
Immunofluorescence: Fluorescently labeled mAbs target specific antigens in cells/tissues viewed under a fluorescence microscope. Useful in detecting viral, bacterial and parasitic infections as well as abnormalities in cells and tissues.
Rapid Diagnostic Tests: Lateral flow immunoassays use labeled mAbs to rapidly detect target analytes in complex samples within 30 mins. Common examples are home pregnancy and drug use tests.
Flow Cytometry: Fluorescently tagged mAbs bind to cell surface markers for identification and quantitation of different cell types in samples. Powerful technique used to diagnose and monitor hematological diseases and immune disorders.
Western Blotting: mAbs detect proteins separated by gel electrophoresis and transferred to a membrane. Helps identify infectious agents and screen autoimmune diseases by detecting autoantibodies.
Common mAbs used as Diagnostic Reagents
CD markers: Cluster of differentiation mAbs label white blood cells and cancer cells. CD3, CD19 and CD20 detect lymphocytes important in lymphoma/leukemia diagnosis and treatment follow up.
Troponin I: Detects cardiac muscle protein released during heart attack and aids rapid diagnosis of myocardial infarction.
PSA: Prostate Specific Antigen mAbs quantitate PSA levels in serum for screening and managing prostate cancer.
CA 125: Antigen 125 mAb measures CA 125 levels for monitoring ovarian cancer and other gynecological conditions.
C-reactive protein: Detects inflammatory marker CRP for diagnosis and management of conditions like arthritis, infections and heart disease.
In summary, mAbs play a crucial role as diagnostic reagents in detecting diseases with high specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility. With advancements in hybridoma technologies and applications, mAbs will continue expanding their use in clinical diagnostics and management of various medical conditions.
Future Perspectives of mAb Diagnostics
While mAbs have revolutionized disease diagnosis, ongoing research aims to develop next generation formats for improved diagnostic assays.
– Bispecific antibodies: Dual specificity antibodies that can recognize two different antigens are being developed for multiplexed detection of targets.
– Nanobody technologies: Single domain antibodies derived from camelids called nanobodies show promise as diagnostic tools due to their excellent stability and small size.
– Rapid point-of-care tests: Further miniaturization of lateral flow assays and incorporation of smartphone imaging/analysis may enable real-time mAb based detection of biomarkers in community healthcare settings.
– Protein arrays: High throughput protein microarrays utilizing mAbs are being optimized for simultaneous profiling of multiple biomarkers as early disease signatures.
– Personalized diagnostics: Patient specific combinatorial mAb panels tailored by artificial intelligence could guide precision disease diagnosis and management.
In conclusion, the field of mAb diagnostics will continually evolve driven by advances in antibody engineering, detection technologies and multidisciplinary approaches. MAbs have emerged as indispensable tools for accurate disease diagnosis and monitoring which will remain an important area of innovation.
*Note:
1.Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2.We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
About Author - Money Singh
Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemicals and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. LinkedIn Profile
