Monoclonal Antibodies

[tiggerblue10]

This is what happens when you search 'antibodies' and end up going down a rabbit hole.

Can anyone help me interpret the function of a monoclonal antibody in plain English. I've tried reading the wiki link but would like it in laymens terms. I found a reference to it somewhere and it looked interesting but need to understand it more.

Cheers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoclonal_antibody

[Zacs-Master]

With reference to what do you want to know (it makes a difference to know what the source of your question is) ?

[Buenchico]

Does this help?
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/immunotherapy/types/monoclonal-antibodies

[237SJ]

Man made antibodiies that attach themselves to pathogens or cancer cells and destroy them?

[teacake44]

23.14??????????? good responses from Buenchico and 237SJ spot on.

[237SJ]

I might not be right (haven't googled it) so don't quote me

[Peter Pedant]

yeah it makes a big difference as to the context - identification or tmt of cancer
or as applied to something like corona

[tiggerblue10]

The reason I asked Zacs is that I saw an article that someone tweeted with reference the production of antibodies once a person has recovered from Covid19 and that the antibodies could be artificially replicated. That led me to monoclonal antibodies.

[tiggerblue10]

I was just interested in how it worked in simple terms.

[Peter Pedant]

the wiki article is probably the simplest

the simplest model is from C19 ( late 1800s) where the cell is a tennic ball and there are little trees or 'Y' stucl on them
the Y instructs somehow the antibody to be produced
which goes up the cell and goes 'gnit gnit gnit' and sticks onto the tree.

and as George Bernard Shaw says in The Doctor's Dilemma - makes them more 'tasty'

I did Path before all this and even then 1970s it was the holy grail - a cell might produce an antibody
and it was even possible to culture cells that produced one antibody - myeloma cells - only the antibodies didnt do diddly squat

and the big thing was to iidentify the cell make a useful antibody and make it gee up and produce truly prodigious amounts

and when it ws solved we all gasped in wonder

the wiki article is quite good

[tiggerblue10]

Thanks all and Peter for your way with words ;o)