Monoclonal Antibodies - For The Treatment Of Various Diseases

Monoclonal antibodies are widely used for the treatment of various types of cancers. They are mainly involved in immunotherapy. Clinical study is conducting on various monoclonal antibodies and other related proteins. Many of these antibodies are being approved for diseases like inflammation and cancer. A lot of researches are conducting to create monoclonal antibodies that are able to cure various diseases.

Some of the diseases cured by these antibodies include:

Various types of cancers
Rheumatoid arthritis
Tumors
Multiple sclerosis
Lymphoma

What Is Antibody Screening and Phage Display?

Antibody screening is the process used for identifying productive cell lines. This will help to minimize the cost of downstream processing steps. Early identification of productive cell lines will enhance the success in scale up activities. Phage display screening process is mainly used for the identifying high affinity antibodies or peptides. Following are some of the important uses of phage display:

Used for screening protein interaction
Help to analyze the mechanism or functioning of a protein
One of the important techniques used in protein engineering.
Considered as a tool in medicine or drug discovery
Help to determine tumor antigens

Function of Antibodies

The immune system of our body is capable of generating certain antibodies. These antibodies will attach foreign substances called antigens and neutralize or destroy them. If our body is exposed to a bacteria or virus, then it will get rid of infection by producing antibodies. Antibodies are considered as the natural defensive substances. They are generally produced by the B cell of the immune system. They help in the recognition of foreign antibodies and then stimulate immune response to them. Antigen presenting cells are involved in adaptive immune response.

Important Medications Using Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies can be used in different forms of therapy. They are used for blocking certain cell receptors and also for destroying malignant tumor cells. There are also variations within the treatment procedures. These types of treatment mainly include medications like Bexxar, Herceptin and Rituxan. Bexxar contains a radioactive iodine molecule and so it does not have a naked form. This medicine has some negative effects like fever, shakes or chills. Medication involving Herceptin is specific for destroying cancer cells in the breast. Treatment procedure that involves Rituxan is very much effective in treating various types of lymphomas, especially Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Various Aspects of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

Monoclonal antibody therapy is quite effective and safe for certain patients. This treatment is not suitable for routine clinical setting because it have to be tailored to each individual patient. This technology is effective in creating antibodies against certain antigens present on the tumor surfaces. These are laboratory produced substances which are able to produce anti-tumor effects. They have been used with radioactive particles or toxins for killing cells. They are mainly used for binding molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF is the main cause of inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis. Monoclonal proteins called Remicade and Humira are TNF inhibitors.