Are produced by fusing single antibody-forming cells to tumour cells grown in culture.
Discovered and developed in the 1970s by Cesar Milstein and Georges Kohler, monoclonal antibodies are the name for antibodies derived from a single source or clone of cells that recognize only one kind of antigen. Made by fusing myeloma cancer cells (which multiply very fast) with antibody-producing cells, then spreading the resulting conjugate colony so thin that each cell can be grown into a whole, separate colony (i.e., cloning). In this way, one gets whole batches of the same (monoclonal) antibody, which are all specific to the same antigen. Monoclonal antibodies have found markets in diagnostic kits and show potential for use in drugs, imaging agents, and purification processes. One example of diagnostic use is the invention in 1997 by Bruno Oesch of a monoclonal antibody-based rapid test to detect the prion (PrP5c) that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle.
Antibody produced from a single clone of B lymphocytes.
Homogenous antibodies from clones of a single cell recognize only one chemical structure which make them highly specific in their action.
Genetically engineered antibodies specific for one particular antigen.