Tag: monoclonal antibodies

In hybridoma technology antibody producing B cells are fused with myeloma cells. These hybrid cells therefore acquire the capability to generate antibodies and also have the ability to live on indefinitely as it is a hybrid of myeloma cell.  Hence, they are able to generate a large number of monoclonal antibodies. 

A hybridoma cell is produced in the laboratory from the fusion of an antibody-producing lymphocyte and a nonantibody-producing cancer cell, usually a myeloma or lymphoma. It proliferates and produces a continuous supply of a specific monoclonal antibody.

Kohler and Milstein created hybridomas by fusing malignant myeloma cells with antibody-producing B cells. The myeloma cells have the ability to replicate indefinitely and are clonogenic they will form clones when grown in vitro while the antibody producing b-cells will release the specific antibody. So, the correct answer is option C.

Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies that are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies can have monovalent affinity, in that they bind to the same epitope (the part of an antigen that is recognized by the antibody). In contrast, polyclonal antibodies bind to multiple epitopes and are usually made by several different plasma cell (antibody secreting immune cell) lineages. Bispecific monoclonal antibodies can also be engineered, by increasing the therapeutic targets of one single monoclonal antibody to two epitopes. Given almost any substance, it is possible to produce monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to that substance; they can then serve to detect or purify that substance. This has become an important tool in biochemistry, molecular biology, and medicine. 

Monoclonal antibodies are the antibodies that are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell. In contrast, polyclonal antibodies bind to multiple epitopes and are usually made by several different plasma cells.