Monoclonal Antibodies AQA GCSE Biology

how are monoclonal antibodies made

They are produced by stimulating mouse lymphocytes to make a particular antibody(by injecting the mouse with a particular antigen) . The lymphocytes are combined with a particular kind of tumour cell(myeloma) to make a cell called a hybridoma cell. The hybridoma cell can both divide rapidly (like a tumour cell) and make the antibody.(we leave them to divide in a petri dish) Single hybridoma cells are cloned to produce many identical cells that all produce the same antibody. The antibodies can then be collected and purified.

which part of a pregnancy test does the woman wee on?

the orange bit on the end

How does a pregnancy test work?

The pregnant woman wees on the end of the test strip in the reaction zone. The reaction zone contains mobile antibodies specific to HCG and they contain a blue dye. The HCG in the pregnant woman’s urine bidns to the antibodies. the woman’s wee flows over the test strip carrying the mobile beads from the reaction zone to the result window. the result window contains immobile antibodies specific to HCG, so the HCG in her urine binds to the antibodies here and a blue line is shown to indicate a positive result. The unfixed beads from the reaction zone then flow to the control window. The antibodies here are specific to the reaction zone antibodies and are fixed and so the reaction zone antibodies bind to the control window antibodies

describe three ways monoclonal antibodies can be used to treat cancer

-They bind to receptors on the outside of cancer cells preventing them from growing/diving by mitosis
-They signal to the immune system/white blood cells and cause them to attack/destroy the cancer cells
-They can carry drugs/radioactive chemicals to target the cancer cells directly;

3. describe the control window on a pregnancy test

non-mobile antibodies complementary to the reaction zone antibodies

what are monoclonal antibodies

Antibodies produced from a single group of genetically identical B-lymphocytes

What are the uses of monoclonal antibodies?

- pregnancy tests
- detecting diseases
- treating cancer
-locate or identify specific molecules in a cell or tissue

what hormone do pregnant women excrete in their urine that a pregnancy test detects?

HCG

what happens if you wee on the test and you're not pregnant?

the urine will wash the unfixed beads along the test strip so they'll flow right over the fixed antibodies on the right and nothing will happen so the test strip won't go blue

where are the lymphocytes removed from a mouse to make monoclonal antibodies

In monoclonal antibody production, lymphocytes are extracted from the spleen of a mouse after it has been immunized with a specific antigen

why is it necessary to produce a hybridoma cell instead of using a white blood cell alone to produce monoclonal antibodies?

lymphocytes cannot divide continuously this means we wouldn't be able to produce monoclonal antibodies on a large scale

1. describe the reaction zone on a pregnancy test

HCG-specific antibodies are here, they are mobile and contain a blue dye

2. describe the result window on a pregnancy test

non-mobile HCG-specific antibodies are found here

how does an enzyme in a pregnancy test help show a positive result?

The enzyme catalyses a reaction in the reaction zone that produces a change in colour