Introduction: Antibody labeling has a number of uses in research and medicine. At its simplest, an antibody is a protein that is manufactured, either in vivo or in vitro, to combine with an antigen that the body sees as foreign. This foreign antigen may be a virus, bacterium, or other blood-borne substance.
Nothing in the body, human or otherwise, takes place without the activity of a number of proteins. Proteins are large molecules made up from individual units called amino acids. The sequence of amino acids determines the overall three-dimensional shape of a protein that makes it uniquely suitable for its purpose in life.
There are many different proteins for many different functions. Some proteins serve as the cytoskeleton to give a cell shape and support. Other proteins function as enzymes, biological catalysts without which metabolic reactions in the body would slow down to a snail's pace. It's like the difference between riding a bicycle from New York City to Los Angeles versus taking an airplane.
Laboratory Synthesis of Antibodies: In the human body, specific cells of the immune system called "B" cells are able to detect the presence of foreign bodies and produce Igs against the foreign antigens. The process of immunization against disease is built upon this principle. A minute amount of a virus, say the flu virus, is inactivated and then injected in order to stimulate our bodies to synthesize the right antibodies against it.
Enough antigen is injected to trigger the formation of Igs without making the whole organism sick. If the organism, such as a human, encounters the antigen producer at a later date, say the flu virus, their B cells will be stimulated to manufacture buckets of antibodies to halt the infection.
In the laboratory, production of antibodies begins with the injection of antigen into an animal, usually a rabbit but occasionally a mouse or other mammal. B cells present in the animal go to work producing antibodies. These are called primary antibodies, which are then harvested from the animal for further use. The primary Ig may be further processed to attach it to a molecular probe that is visualized using radioimmunochemistry, cytochemistry or histochemistry.
More frequently, primary Ig's are attached to a secondary antibody to amplify the visual signal. One type of visual signal is a fluorescent marker. This is a molecule that has been attached to another molecule that emits colored light when exposed to the right wavelength of light from an ultra-violet microscope. Multiple labelled antibodies may be used to build up a picture of a cell that has been grown in culture and then frozen in time with alcohol or other fixative to give a snapshot of that cell at a moment in time when it is expressing the proteins of interest.
Antibody labeling is used in brain tumor research. Brain cells are cultivated in culture on microscope slides and exposed to substances that may either promote or inhibit cell division. The cells are then fixed and stained to look for the presence of proteins that are made by the cultured cells in response to the substances that have been applied to them.
Nothing in the body, human or otherwise, takes place without the activity of a number of proteins. Proteins are large molecules made up from individual units called amino acids. The sequence of amino acids determines the overall three-dimensional shape of a protein that makes it uniquely suitable for its purpose in life.
There are many different proteins for many different functions. Some proteins serve as the cytoskeleton to give a cell shape and support. Other proteins function as enzymes, biological catalysts without which metabolic reactions in the body would slow down to a snail's pace. It's like the difference between riding a bicycle from New York City to Los Angeles versus taking an airplane.
Laboratory Synthesis of Antibodies: In the human body, specific cells of the immune system called "B" cells are able to detect the presence of foreign bodies and produce Igs against the foreign antigens. The process of immunization against disease is built upon this principle. A minute amount of a virus, say the flu virus, is inactivated and then injected in order to stimulate our bodies to synthesize the right antibodies against it.
Enough antigen is injected to trigger the formation of Igs without making the whole organism sick. If the organism, such as a human, encounters the antigen producer at a later date, say the flu virus, their B cells will be stimulated to manufacture buckets of antibodies to halt the infection.
In the laboratory, production of antibodies begins with the injection of antigen into an animal, usually a rabbit but occasionally a mouse or other mammal. B cells present in the animal go to work producing antibodies. These are called primary antibodies, which are then harvested from the animal for further use. The primary Ig may be further processed to attach it to a molecular probe that is visualized using radioimmunochemistry, cytochemistry or histochemistry.
More frequently, primary Ig's are attached to a secondary antibody to amplify the visual signal. One type of visual signal is a fluorescent marker. This is a molecule that has been attached to another molecule that emits colored light when exposed to the right wavelength of light from an ultra-violet microscope. Multiple labelled antibodies may be used to build up a picture of a cell that has been grown in culture and then frozen in time with alcohol or other fixative to give a snapshot of that cell at a moment in time when it is expressing the proteins of interest.
Antibody labeling is used in brain tumor research. Brain cells are cultivated in culture on microscope slides and exposed to substances that may either promote or inhibit cell division. The cells are then fixed and stained to look for the presence of proteins that are made by the cultured cells in response to the substances that have been applied to them.
By Marissa Velazquez
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About the Author:
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