How do monoclonal antibodies fight cancer?
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-created immune system proteins. Antibodies are naturally formed by the body and assist the immune system in recognizing and marking microorganisms that cause disease, such as bacteria and viruses, for elimination. Monoclonal antibodies, like your body’s own antibodies, identify particular targets.
Numerous monoclonal antibodies are utilized in cancer treatment. They are a form of targeted cancer therapy, meaning they are specifically engineered to interact with certain cancer cells.
Certain monoclonal antibodies are also used in immunotherapy, as they assist the immune system in turning against cancer.
For instance, some monoclonal antibodies label cancer cells to aid the immune system in recognizing and eliminating them. Rituximab, for example, attaches to a protein called CD20 on B cells and some kinds of cancer cells, signaling the immune system to destroy them. B lymphocytes are a subset of white blood cells.
Types of cancer treated by Monoclonal antibodies
Monoclonal antibody treatments have been developed for a variety of cancers, though not all. Certain types of cancer cells are more responsive to monoclonal antibody treatments than some others.
- Brain cancer
- Breast cancer
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Colorectal cancer
- Head and neck cancers
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Lung cancer
- Melanoma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Prostate cancer
- Stomach cancer
What are the complications associated with monoclonal antibodies?
Monoclonal antibodies may have unintended consequences that vary from person to person. Which ones you have and how they affect you will depend on various circumstances, including your overall health before treatment, your kind of cancer, its stage, the type of monoclonal antibody you are getting, and the dose.
Doctors and nurses cannot predict when or if side effects may develop or their severity. Thus, it is critical to understand the warning signals and what to do if you begin to have difficulties. Monoclonal antibodies, like the majority of immunotherapies, can induce skin responses at the injection site and flu-like symptoms.
The following are examples of needle site reactions:
- Itchiness
- Pain
- Rash
- Redness
- Soreness
- Swelling
Symptoms similar to the flu are:
- Chills
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Muscle Aches and Pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
Additionally, monoclonal antibodies can result in the following:
- Congestive heart failure
- Heart attacks
- High blood pressure
- Inflammatory lung disease
- Sores in the mouth and skin that can develop into serious infections
While receiving monoclonal antibodies, you may experience mild to severe adverse responses. In extremely rare instances, the response is strong enough to result in death.
Certain monoclonal antibodies have also been implicated with capillary leak syndrome.
This condition results in the leakage of fluid and proteins from small blood arteries into surrounding tissues, resulting in dangerously low blood pressure. Capillary leak syndrome can result in the failure of several organs and shock.
Cytokine release syndrome can occasionally occur when monoclonal antibodies are used. However, it is frequently minor. Cytokines are immunological chemicals that perform a variety of roles in the body, and an abrupt increase in their levels might result in the following:
- Difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Headache
- Low blood pressure
- Nausea
- Rapid heartbeat
- Rashes
Discovery of monoclonal antibodies
Since its debut in 1975, monoclonal antibodies have had a profound impact on healthcare. The fact that they are extremely accurate and highly sensitive is one of their most significant benefits.
For many centuries, those who kept a close eye on epidemic illnesses like smallpox and plague saw that those who had already endured and survived one outbreak were immune to the next. Some of the early therapies against smallpox were based on the idea that people may become immune to a disease. This procedure involves injecting healthy persons with pustule-derived immune globulin into the diseased recipients. As a result of these procedures, the immune system was strengthened.
Blood from animals that had been afflicted with tetanus or diphtheria might offer immunity to those who had not been exposed to it before, according to Emil von Behring and Kitasato Shibasaburo. After that, Paul Ehrlich discovered that antibodies were the source of protection in blood and speculated that antibodies might be utilized in medicine as a panacea in the future.
The search for a way to separate and purify individual antibodies from the body’s billions of them began. Georges Kohler and Cesar Milstein from the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, developed a way to manufacture monoclonal antibodies in 1975, and that was the end of the story.
How are monoclonal antibodies made in a lab?
There are numerous processes involved in the creation of monoclonal antibodies. To start with, an immunostimulant is given to a laboratory animal to start its immune system going. To make hybridomas, B lymphocytes from the animal’s spleen are fused with an immortal myeloma cell line before being collected.
After that, the hybrid cells are tested to see whether they produce highly specific antibodies for a given target. Once the hybrid cell has been located, a hybridoma colony can be started by cloning it. The colony is kept alive in culture media to provide a steady supply of monoclonal antibodies. There is only one kind of monoclonal antibody produced by the hybrid cell, and this antibody can only bind to one type of cell surface receptor.
Monoclonal antibodies have the primary benefit of being inexpensive and mass-produced. Researchers utilize them as probes all the time to figure out the underlying causes of many diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and even autoimmune conditions.
More than just cancer treatment
As previously mentioned, monoclonal antibodies are essential for tissue and blood typing for transplants. Patients utilize them daily to diagnose themselves, as well as to keep an eye on infection rates. They’re also helpful for spotting heart attacks early. Because of this, monoclonal antibodies are included in many home-testing kits used to determine things like ovulation or pregnancy status.
Monoclonal antibodies have been proved helpful as medicines in addition to diagnostics. For more than 50 years, monoclonal antibodies have aided in the advancement of medical care. For example, they are used to prevent organ rejection and treat cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune illnesses, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, allergies, osteoporosis, and vision issues in those with eye conditions. As well as helping with migraines, studies have shown that they can also assist with excessive cholesterol levels.
For the protection of public health, governments also rely on monoclonal antibodies. Anthrax and smallpox are examples of illnesses delivered by biological weapons that may be detected and tracked using antibodies.
Additionally, monoclonal antibodies aid in the detection of pathogens such as salmonella and listeria in food. They’re also crucial for spotting viruses in animals and plants, as well as keeping tabs on pollution levels. There are several approved monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19.
