Abstract

MONOCLONAL ANTIBIOTICS USAGE IN AUTO IMMUNE DISORDERS

Praneeth Chandaluri* and Ramesh Ganpisetti

ABSTRACT

Hybridoma technology is a method for producing large numbers of identical antibodies (also called monoclonal antibodies). This process starts by injecting a mouse with an antigen that provokes an immune response. A type of white blood cell, the B cell that produces antibodies that bind to the antigen are then harvested from the mouse. These isolated B cells are in turn fused with immortal B cell cancer cells, a myeloma, to produce a hybrid cell line called a hybridoma, which has both the antibody-producing ability of the B-cell and the exaggerated longevity and reproductively of the myeloma. Once monoclonal antibodies for a given substance have been produced, they can be used to detect the presence of this substance. The Western blot test and immuno dot blottests detect the protein on a membrane. They are also very useful in immunohistochemistry, which detect antigen in fixed tissue sections and immunofluorescence test, which detect the substance in a frozen tissue section or in live cells. Monoclonal antibody therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to bind monospecifically to certaincells or proteins. This may then stimulate the patient's immune system to attack those cells. Monoclonal antibodies used for autoimmune diseases include infliximab and adalimumab, which are effective in rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative Colitis by their ability to bind to and inhibit TNF-α. Basiliximab and daclizumab inhibit IL-2 on activated T cells and thereby help preventing acute rejection of kidney transplants. Omalizumab inhibits human immunoglobulin E (IgE) and is useful in moderate-to-severe allergic asthma.

Keywords: Crohn's disease, myeloma, a hybridoma, rheumatoid arthritis, immunofluorescence test, ulcerative Colitis.