Monoclonal Antibodies

Problems With Conventional Antisera The immune response plays an important role in man's resistance to infectious agents and has evolved to protect us from the many pathogens in our environment. The antibodies that are generated in response to foreign substances can also provide effective reagents for diagnosing and treating many diseases. However, since the natural role of such antibodies is to protect us from invading organisms, a major characteristic of the immune response is its heterogeneity, with many different antibodies being made in response to each antigen. This has complicated the use of antibodies as diagnostic reagents and therapeutic tools because most immune sera, whether raised in animals or man, are a mixture of hundreds to thousands of antibodies that differ from each other in their affinity and specificity. They also differ in their ability to carry out effector functions, such as the binding to macrophages, the fixation of complement,