Monoclonal antibodies. What is it and what are they for?

Antibodies (immunoglobulins) are called Y-form proteins. They take part in the detection and excretion of foreign components (antigens) from the body. The production of antibodies is carried out by the immune system in response to the penetration of the antigen. Each immunoglobulin is able to recognize and communicate with a foreign specific element.

Due to the fact that antibodies circulate through the circulatory system, every part of the body is accessible to them. The binding of an immunoglobulin to an antigen can prevent the development of processes that contribute to the disease, or lead to the destruction of a foreign element.

The immune response of an organism to any, even the simplest, foreign component is called polyclonal. In other words, the immune system produces a variety of immunoglobulins to fight against different antigens.

Monoclonal antibodies are clone cells. For each such cell, the target (target) is a specific antigen, in order to identify and bind to it, a specific immunoglobulin, a progenitor cell, has been developed in the immune system.

In therapy, monoclonal organisms synthesized in the laboratory, rather than in the immune system, are used. When they get into the body, the activation process of other components of the protective system is launched to destroy specific antigens. So, for example, monoclonal antibodies are introduced into the body to treat cancer.

The first clone cells, which were synthesized under laboratory conditions, consisted entirely of mouse proteins. This provoked quite a serious problem. The fact is that these "mouse" monoclonal antibodies the human immune system perceived as antigens - foreign elements, and therefore developed a reaction against them. This did not just mean the development of an immune response. The protective system in the body began to destroy monoclonal antibodies before they could benefit him.

After a while, some parts of mouse protein cells began to be replaced by human protein components, called "chimeric". In connection with the increase in the proportion of elements of human immunoglobulins, they (synthesized) are called "humanized monoclonal antibodies".

Preparations containing these components are referred to as targeted therapy. In other words, drugs are called upon to act directly on cells that provoke the development of pathological processes. This is often a more effective method than traditional therapeutic regimens. In addition, many of the usual medicines intended for the treatment of, for example, multiple sclerosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other pathologies, are toxic and have limitations on the total dosages permissible for administration to the patient.

Among the most popular drugs of monoclonal antibodies, mention should be made of such drugs as MabThera, Rituxan (used for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), Herceptin (used for breast cancer).

On the technology of synthesizing monoclonal antibodies, medicine has high hopes. However, there are some limitations. Thus, synthesized immunoglobulins are too large molecules. This does not allow them to penetrate deep into the tissue or inside the cell. They are not intended for oral (oral) use. In addition, to achieve the desired effect, the concentration of these antibodies should exceed by a factor of five to ten thousand times the concentration of target antigens. The production of synthesized immunoglobulins is carried out only on cell cultures, which, in turn, makes their production quite expensive.