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Antibody issue

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The antibody issue

Antibodies, immunoglobulins are proteins that bind targets ('antigens') and are produced in vertebrates against foreign microbes. Figure 1: The structure of immunoglobulin The function of antibodies has 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 they serve as essential. 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] Primarily because of their ability to perform post-translational modifications (PTM), most often mammalian cells are used for the production. Especially N-glycosylation is an important step, resulting in avoidance of the human immune system, i.e. minimising 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]

Another disadvantage of using mammalian cells is the dead of many animals. 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.