Table 2.
Summary of various applications of monoclonal antibodies.
| Application | Features | Diagnosis, treatment, and gains |
|---|---|---|
| DIAGNOSIS | ||
| Biochemical analysis | Diagnostic tests are regularly used in radioimmunoassay (RIA) and ELISA in the laboratory to quantify the circulating concentrations of hormones and several other tissue and cell products. | Pregnancy: human chorionic gonadotropin; cancers: colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, tumor markers; hormonal disorders: thyroxine, triiodothyronine, thyroid; infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) include Neisseria gonorrhoeae, herpes simplex virus. |
| Diagnostic imaging | The technique is also called immunoscintigraphy. Radiolabeled—mAbs are used in the diagnostic imaging of the diseases. The radioisotopes commonly used for labeling mAbs are iodine—131 and technetium—99. Imaging tool include single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) cameras. | Myocardial infarction: myocardial necrosis; deep vein thrombosis: thrombus in thigh, pelvis, calf, knee; atherosclerosis: coronary and peripheral arteries; immunohistopathology of cancers: colon, stomach, pancreas, liver, germ cells of testes, choriocarcinoma, prostate cancer, melanoma; hematopoietic malignancies: hematopoietic stem cells malignancy; bacterial infections. |
| THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS | ||
| Direct therapeutic agents | Monoclonal antibodies can be directly used for augmenting the immune function of the host triggering minimal toxicity to the target tissues or the host. | Opsonization and phagocytosis of pathogenic organisms: hepatitis B-virus, E. coli, haemophilus influenza, streptococcus sp. pseudomonas sp; cancer treatment: ADCC, CDC, phagocytosis of cancer cells, colorectal cancer, lymphoma, melanoma; immunosuppression of organ transplantation; treatment of AIDS; treatment of autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, MS. |
| Targeting agents in therapy | Toxins, drugs, radioisotopes etc., can be attached or conjugated to the tissue-specific mAbs and carried to target tissues for efficient action. | Immunotoxins: diphtheria toxin, pseudomonas exotoxin, toxins used for cancer treatment; drug delivery: antibody-directed enzyme pro-drug therapy (ADEPT), liposomes coupled mAb drug delivery; dissolution of blood clots: thrombus in coronary or cerebral artery; immunotherapy (RAIT): yttrium-90, indium-111. |
| Protein Purification | MAbs are produced against protein of interest and conveniently used for the purification of that particular protein. | In a single step, it is likely to reach more than 5,000-fold purification of interferon-α2. |
| MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS | ||
| Catalytic mAbs (ABZYMES) | The antibody enzymes, appropriately regarded as abzymes, are the catalytic antibodies. Hapten-carrier complex is formed that resembles the transition state of an ester undergoing hydrolysis. This hapten conjugate is used to produce anti-hapten mAbs. | Widespread applications include splicing of peptides and deoxyribonucleic acids, dissolution of blood clots, and killing of viruses. |
| Autoantibody fingerprinting | Recently, a new class of individual specific (IS) autoantibodies have been documented in recent years. These IS-autoantibodies are developed after birth and extend maximum in number by 2 years, and then stay persistent afterwards. | Autoantibodies collected from blood, saliva, semen and tears are used for detection, and identification of individuals especially for forensic sciences. |