Antibody Engineering for Pursuing a Healthier Future

Saeed, Abdullah F. U. H.; Wang, Rongzhi; Ling, Sumei; Wang, Shihua

Polyclonal antibodies contain large and diverse concentrations of different antibodies with unknown specificities. They are broadly used for the detection of different antigens in research and diagnostics. However, non-human polyclonal antibodies induce immune responses in humans that impede their clinical use such as treating snake bites (Wilde et al., 1996) . Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized scientific research. Production of these molecules is based on the fusion of antibody generating spleen cells from immunized mice, rats, or rabbits with immortal myeloma cell lines. These monoclonal antibodies are a highly specific class of biological reagents that facilitate enhanced clinical diagnostics in the medical arena. Subsequently, various antibodies are used clinically as prophylactic or therapeutic agents. The first monoclonal antibody developed by hybridoma technology was reported in 1975 and subsequently licensed in 1986 (Köhler and Milstein, 1975; Nelson, 2010) . This development technique signifies a novel way to target specific mutations in nucleic acids and provide extensive expression in disease and other conditions .