5. Monoclonal Antibodies

About this Lecture

Lecture

In the fifth and final mini-lecture, we talk about monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are widely used in medicine for diagnosis and in science for experimentation. We begin by first discussing how scientists collect/grow monoclonal antibodies from cells made by merging B-cells with myelomas. To move on, we discuss the various uses of unconjugated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), such as against rheumatoid arthritis, or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In addition to this, we talk about how we can ‘load’ antibodies with other compounds, or radiolabels. To finish off, we discuss the uses of monoclonal antibodies in diagnosis, using the COVID lateral flow test to explain how this works.

Course

In this lecture, Dr Matthew Ivory (Cardiff University) introduces the human immune system, and some of the tools the body has at its disposal to fight off infections. To begin, we: (i) discuss the passive barriers and innate immune system; before (ii) focusing on the adaptive immune system and how its response differs from the innate immune system; and then delving into T- and B-cells, specifically cytotoxic and helper T-cells, and antibodies and their associated B-cells; following onto (iv) antibodies more specifically and understanding how they have such specificity for an antigen and the different mechanisms they can use to fight pathogens; before finally (v) understanding how monoclonal antibodies have widespread use in medicine and in science, such as in diagnosis, cell signalling, radiolabelling, ELISA tests, and immunofluorescence.

Lecturer

Dr Matthew Ivory is a Lecturer at Cardiff University in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (2016-present). His key expertise is in ex vivo human skin organ culture and histology, human skin immune cell extraction and culture, flow cytometry and pharmaceutical formulation, and his research interests are in the delivery of vaccines and therapeutics into the skin. In addition to this, he is also a qualified pharmacist.