Harnessing the immune system's arsenal: producing human monoclonal antibodies for therapeutics and investigating immune responses

Sullivan, Meghan; Kaur, Kaval; Pauli, Noel; Wilson, Patrick C.

The use of antibodies in research and therapeutics has come a long way since the crude serum transfer experiments of the 1800s, largely due to the advances in modern technologies capable of such feats as immortalizing human B cells, screening randomly paired human antibody genes, and producing human antibody in cell cultures. Such breakthroughs have highlighted the role that monoclonal antibodies may play in the future development of immune therapies and rational vaccine design for rapidly changing pathogens such as influenza and HIV. This article will explore the history and current state of monoclonal antibody technology and how it has contributed to therapeutics, both through direct clinical treatments and by providing valuable insights into hostpathogen interactions. Importantly, we will highlight how these technologies help identify factors that produce broadly neutralizing antibodies-antibodies that by virtue of binding to certain epitopes important in the viral life cycle, are able to bind many disparate viral strains and prevent them from infecting their target cells. These antibodies are vital in effective therapeutics and, ultimately, successful vaccine design.