Antibodies Making Their Way From The Clinic To The Research Lab

if (n == null) The Scientist - The Immune Response The Scientist 9[18]:18, Sep. 18, 1995 Tools The Immune Response By Holly Ahern Imagine that you've just cloned a gene for a bacterial enzyme with unique structural properties and you want to find out more about it. What natural role does the enzyme play, you wonder, and do organisms other than bacteria produce it? To answer these questions, you could screen countless genomic libraries for clones bearing si

| 10 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
10:00
Share


Tools

By Holly Ahern

Imagine that you've just cloned a gene for a bacterial enzyme with unique structural properties and you want to find out more about it. What natural role does the enzyme play, you wonder, and do organisms other than bacteria produce it? To answer these questions, you could screen countless genomic libraries for clones bearing similar DNA sequences. Or you could perform Southern blots, a molecular biology technique in which DNA fragments are separated by electrophoresis and then transferred to a support membrane and "probed" for homologous sequences.

Alternatively, you could inject your protein into a mouse, a rabbit, or a chicken and let the animal's immune system make you an antibody as specific for your protein as a key is for a lock. The antibody will detect mutant forms of the enzyme on a blot made from electrophoretically separated proteins, bind to a target protein ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Holly Ahern

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide