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  Antibodies: The Y-shaped molecules found in blood protect us from infections.
of this antibody revolution. However, due to their mouse origin, antibodies obtained from hybridoma were recognized as foreign and led to a harmful anti-mouse
response in humans. To prevent this, the technology has progressed through the making of chimeric antibodies (30%– 40% mouse and 60%–70% human origin) and humanized antibodies (5%–10% mouse and 90%–95 %human origin) and now matured into the production of fully human recombinant antibodies.
One of the most popular
platforms used for the human
antibody discovery is based on
phage display. Phage display
is an elegant technology
that allows the expression of
desired proteins on the surface of phages viruses that infect bacteria. In this technology, the sequences encoding the two arms of the Y-shaped antibody molecule (that bind to the target) are amplified using polymerase chain
Dr Vaishali Verma || 65
reaction (PCR) and cloned with one of the coat proteins of the phage. Consequently, the assembled phage particle displays the antibody on its surface along with its coat protein. The importance of phage display can be aptly emphasized with last year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Professor George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter ‘for the phage display of peptides and antibodies’. Their phenomenal contribution has led to the recreation of entire human antibody repertoires in a single tube in the form of phage-displayed antibody libraries that can be used to identify specific antibodies against any target with extreme precision using a process called biopanning. This technology led to the isolation of the first human therapeutic antibody ‘adalimumab’ targeting tumour necrosis factor- alpha, which was marketed in 2002. Since then, several antibodies have matured into the Food and Drug Administration–approved
therapeutics, comprising a market of ~100 billion USD worldwide, and an even larger number of such molecules are in the different phases of clinical trials.
In the Indian scenario, the development of therapeutics to counter already existing diseases. and those caused by newly emerging infectious organisms is the need of the hour. For instance, as per the World Health Organization reports, 2017, India faces a major crisis in the form of a rampant increase in the cases of anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
With an ever-increasing burden of AMR and not many new antibiotics in the development pipeline, the antibody-based therapeutics can be used as alternative intervention strategies to mediate the killing of microbes and the
   Blood contained a large number of antibodies, which could block the action of foreign substances encountered by the body and cured diseases. Due to their exquisite functions, the antibody molecules are one of the most well-studied molecules in biology. Their shape closely resembles the Y alphabet of the English language.
  


















































































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