Monoclonal Antibodies

What’s in today’s article?

• What’s in today’s article?
• Why in news?
• What is Nipah virus?
• Monoclonal antibody
• What is a monoclonal antibody?
• How do monoclonal antibodies work?
• Important applications of monoclonal antibodies
• What is m102.4?

Why in news?

• Recently, India reached out to Australia to procure monoclonal antibody doses to combat the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.
• As per Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India is expecting 20 more doses soon.
  • India currently has the antibody doses available for ten persons only.
• No one in the country has been administered the dosage so far since it needs to be given at an early stage of infection.

What is a monoclonal antibody?

• Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the behaviour of antibodies produced by the immune system to protect against diseases and foreign substances.
  • An antibody attaches itself to an antigen (a foreign substance, usually a disease-causing molecule) and helps the immune system eliminate it from the body.
• Monoclonal antibodies are specifically designed to target certain antigens.
• Niels K. Jerne, Georges J.F. Köhler and César Milstein were awarded the medicine Nobel Prize in 1984 for their work on the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies.

How do monoclonal antibodies work?

• Monoclonal antibodies are specifically engineered and generated to target a disease.
• They are meant to attach themselves to the specific disease-causing antigen.
  • An antigen is most likely to be a protein.
• For instance, most successful monoclonal antibodies during the pandemic were engineered to bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• The binding prevented the protein from exercising its regular functions, including its ability to infect other cells.

Important applications of monoclonal antibodies

• Therapeutics
  • They are used in medicine to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases.
  • For example, monoclonal antibodies have been developed to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, COVID-19, and certain types of cancer.
• Diagnostic Tools
  • Monoclonal antibodies are used in diagnostic tests, such as ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), to detect specific proteins or pathogens in patient samples.
• Research Tools
  • Scientists use monoclonal antibodies in research to study and understand the function of specific proteins and cells.
  • They are valuable tools in fields like immunology, cell biology, and genetics.
• Biotechnology
  • Monoclonal antibodies are used in the biotechnology industry for the purification and isolation of proteins.
  • They are also employed in drug discovery and development processes.

What is m102.4?

• 4 is a potent, fully human monoclonal antibody that neutralises Hendra and Nipah viruses, both outside and inside of living organisms.
• According to a research paper, the m102.4 monoclonal antibody binds itself to the immunodominant receptor-binding glycoprotein of the Nipah virus, potentially neutralising it.
  • Glycoproteins are one of the major components of viruses that cause diseases in humans.
• The antibody has passed phase-one clinical trials.
  • This means that researchers tested it with a relatively small number of people to estimate the right dose of treatment that also doesn’t cause side effects.
• As of now, the drug is used on a ‘compassionate use’ basis.
  • It is a treatment option that allows the use of an unauthorised medicine under strict conditions among people where:
    • no other alternative and/or satisfactory authorised treatment is known to be possible and
    • where patients cannot enter clinical trials for various reasons.

Q1) What is an antigen?

An antigen is a substance that can trigger an immune response in the body. Antigens are typically proteins or other molecules that are recognized by the immune system as foreign or non-self. When the immune system detects an antigen, it initiates a series of responses to defend the body against potential threats, such as infections or harmful substances.

Q2) What is Hendra virus?

Hendra virus is a highly contagious and deadly virus that primarily affects horses and can also be transmitted from horses to humans. This virus is classified as a member of the Henipavirus genus within the Paramyxoviridae family. Hendra virus was first identified in 1994 during an outbreak in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 

Source: Nipah virus outbreak: What are monoclonal antibodies? | Explained | WHO | The Lancet