Monoclonal Antibodies.

 Monoclonal Antibodies (MABs).

The primary objective of this Pari talks blogspot.com is to draw out a smile from serious minded science lovers, and no foul language is used.

L'objectif principal de ce blog Pari Talks blodpsot.com est de tirer un sourire des amateus de science serie'ux, acun langage grossier n'est utilise'.

P.K.Ghatak, MD.

No.9.

Monoclonal antibodies are man-made antibodies produced from a single clone of one immune cell line. The monoclonal antibody(mAb) binds to a specific antigen. Monoclonal Antibodies are used in various illnesses, including cancer treatment. Additionally, they have further usefulness.

1. Diagnostic Tests: A common test for infectious diseases, and even in pregnancy tests.

2. Immunotherapy: They enhance the immune response against cancer.

The fun part.

The total number of MABs in use is huge and is hard to keep track of. Some 830 are in use in the USA alone. Those mAbs approved by the FDA for therapeutic use are named in a coded letter to identify their source. An example- Rituximab. The letter “ i “ appears just before ... mab. “i” signifies the protein was obtained partly from a human source and partly from a mouse.

Here is a partial list:

“...o mab “is made from a lab mouse. Example- Abagovomab used in the treatment of Neuroblastoma.

“...i mab” is made from partly human and partly from mouse. Example - Rituximab is used to treat autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

“...u mab”.  Bingo!!, made entirely from human cells. Example – Abitumab used in the treatment of cancer.

The sad part:

 The adverse side effects. Some unfortunate users of mAbs may experience reactivation of old viral infections, such as shingles from the chickenpox virus, active TB from a previously treated bacterial infection, or Latent TB infection. The other side effects due to overstimulation of immune cells are Lymphoma. Leukemia or Lymphosarcoma.

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