B cells make specific monoclonal antibodies
Human monoclonal antibodies have become an important tool in medicine, pharmaceuticals and molecular biology. If monoclonal antibodies are present for any cell or substance, the antibodies can serve to detect and, or purify those entities. Monoclonal antibodies have been produced to treat viral infections, cardiovascular diseases and inflammatory disease, to name but a few. The overall objective of the European project MEMOVAX was to investigate the nature of immunological memory to provide a rational approach to immunisation against diseases. Immunisation strategy could therefore be based on an improved understanding of the complex pathways involved. As an integral part of this, scientists at the Institute for research in biomedicine in Switzerland developed a novel method to produce human monoclonal antibodies from memory B cells. Memory B cells are formed from B lymphocytes and they 'remember' the invader for faster production of antibodies in the wake of a future infection by the same pathogen. The team produced monoclonal antibodies from an individual who had recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). With the informed consent of the patient, peripheral blood was collected and a specific type of B memory cell was isolated. After two weeks, the B cells, after culture with the Epstein Barr virus using a newly developed method were purified and screened for specific antibodies. After several purification steps, stable specific clones producing monoclonal antibodies were isolated. It is expected that further research and development into this field will yield novel efficient methods of disease prevention. These are most likely to be based on the complex molecular biology involved including new vaccines refined for specific purposes.
