Difference between revisions of "Team:SDU-Denmark/Tour20"

The antibody issue

Antibodies, immunoglobulins, are proteins that bind targets ('antigens'). They are produced in vertebrates against foreign microbes, Figure 1: The structure of immunoglobulin which is a function that have been utilized in research for decades. As mentioned in the introduction, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are frequently used for numerous purposes in research and in medical aspects.

Since 1975 where Kohler and Milstein initiated the current era of antibody production, by introducing the hybridoma technology, the applications have been extended and become an essential part in many aspects of research. Reference: Liu JK1 (2014) The history of monoclonal antibody development - Progress, remaining challenges and future innovations. Sep 11;3(4):113-6.
DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2014.09.001. [PubMed] Today, most often mammalian cells are used for production of mAbs, primarily because of their ability to perform post-translational modifications (PTM). Especially N-glycosylation is an important step, resulting in avoidance of the human immune system, i.e. minimizing immunogenicity. This makes the antibodies usable in clinical aspects. Even though this ability clearly prompts the use of mammalian cells, some drawbacks is often disregarded, such as being cumbersome and needy to work with. Foremost requirements for a system capable of making mAbs are high growth rate and high production yield. The demand is continuously growing and the production market is exponentially rising. In the end of 2014, 47 mAbs have been approved for treatment in US and Europe and this number is estimated to be ~70 in 2020, with a world-wide revenue at nearly $125 billion. Reference: Dawn M Ecker, Susan Dana Jones & Howard L Levine (2015) The therapeutic monoclonal antibody market, mAbs, 7:1, 9-14,
DOI: 10.4161/19420862.2015.989042 [PubMed]

We think it is very important to think about the cost effectiveness. No doubt about the effectiveness, but it does not have to be on the cost of animal lives. Despite strength control and legislation in Denmark an alternative to laboratory animals will always be preferable. The search for alternatives to animals in research implies that scientists find the existing method problematic and have a gut feeling about the matter. Read our page Animal Ethics for more on this topic.

Peptide aptamers are proteins consisting of a scaffold part with a variable loop, which make them perfect in the search for an alternative to traditional antibodies. By manipulating Escherichia Coli into producing peptide aptamers many of the drawbacks by using mammalian cells will be minimized. Take a look at the page The Alternative, later on in this chapter, to read more about this.