4.3.2.2 Uses of monoclonal antibodies

long answers for this one..

What are examples of the uses of monoclonal antibodies?

Pregnancy tests, laboratories to measure the levels of hormones or chemicals, in research, the treatment of some diseases

How are monoclonal antibodies used for pregnancy tests?

A hormone called hCG is present in pregnant women’s’ urine. The first section of the stick has mobile antibodies which are attached to blue beads and are complementary to the hCG hormone, the second section has stationary antibodies complementary to the hCG hormone which are stuck down to the stick. The person will pee on the first section and if hCG is present, it binds to the mobile antibodies and forms hCG/antibody complexes. They are carried to the second section and the stationary antibodies then bind to the complexes and because they are each bound to a blue bead, a blue line is made

How are monoclonal antibodies used in laboratories?

They can be used to measure and monitor levels of hormones or chemicals in the blood. The monoclonal antibodies are modified so they will bind to the molecule you are looking for. The antibodies are also bound to a fluorescent dye so if the molecules are in the sample then antibodies bind to it and the dye can be seen

What are tumour markers?

Cancer cells have antigens on their cell membranes which can be targeted by monoclonal antibodies

How does producing monoclonal antibodies treat cancers?

They bind to the tumour markers to stimulate the immune system to attack the cell

How does using monoclonal antibodies to bind to receptor sites on the cell surface membrane of cancer cells treat cancers?

Growth stimulating molecules can’t bind to the cancer cells which stop them from dividing

What are advantages of using monoclonal antibodies?

They only bind to specific cells so healthy cells aren’t affected, they can be engineered to treat many different conditions, scientists can produce mouse-human hybrid cells to reduce the chance of triggering an immune response

What are disadvantages of using monoclonal antibodies?

It is difficult to attach monoclonal antibodies to drugs, they are expensive to develop, as they were produced from mice lymphocytes they would often trigger an immune response when used in humans