Monoclonal Antibodies

This new and important international source of information beings together leading-edge research dedicated to monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are: antibodies of exceptional purity and specificity; components of the immune system; able to recognise and bind to a specific antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are currently utilised in many diagnostic procedures, including: measuring protein and drug levels in serum; typing tissue and blood; identifying infectious agents; identifying clusters of differentiation for the classification and follow-up therapy of leukaemias and lymphomas; identifying tumour antigens and auto-antibodies; identifying the specific cells involved in the immune response; identifying and quantifying hormones. For example, monoclonal antibodies (MABs or MOABs) work on cancer cells in the same way natural antibodies work, by identifying and binding to the target cells. They then alert other cells in the immune system to the presence of the cancer cells. MABs are specific for a particular antigen-one designed for a B-cell lymphoma will not work on cells for ovarian cancer cells for example.