Antibodies are proteins (gamma globulins) that are produced by B lymphocytes . Every B lymphocyte produces one kind of antibody that recognizes the foreign structure, or antigen. If the antibody can make contact with the antigen, it will become attached to it. This is important because a tumor cell surrounded by antibodies is more vulnerable to destruction by some cells of the immune system .
The antibodies have two parts—a variable part and a constant part.
• The variable part recognizes the antigen, or the specific structure of the "foreign" invader.
• The constant part, or the "tail," is recognized by the effector cells of the immune system such as monocytes,
macrophages , neutrophils and LAK cells. So this constant part attracts the working immune cells, which then
attack and destroy the structure to which the whole antibody is attached.
Monoclonal Antibodies A very modern and sophisticated way to use antibodies is to produce them in the laboratory as monoclonal antibodies (MAbs).
What makes MAbs different is that the antibodies produced naturally in the body by the many different B lymphocytes are always a mixture of different antibodies. But antibodies produced in a lab by a colony of B lymphocytes are all derived from the same parent cell (from the same "clone"). These antibodies won't be a mixture, but a pure accumulation of the specific antibody of the parent cell. The goal of this procedure is to
