Why is a mouse injected with an antigen at the start of monoclonal antibody production?

So that its lymphocytes respond by making antibodies against that antigen, which can then be collected.

What is a hybridoma cell?

A cell made by fusing a lymphocyte with a tumour cell, so that it both makes the antibody and divides endlessly.

Why is a tumour cell used in making a hybridoma?

Tumour cells divide rapidly and without limit, so the fused cell can be grown into a very large clone.

Describe how monoclonal antibodies are produced.

A mouse is injected with the antigen, its lymphocytes are collected and fused with tumour cells, and a single fused cell making the wanted antibody is cloned and grown so the antibody can be collected and purified.

OCR GCSE Biology A J247

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Monoclonal antibodies and their uses

3 things to know
Paper 4

Overview

What monoclonal antibodies and hybridoma cells are, why a mouse and a tumour cell are used, the steps in producing them and why one fused cell is cloned, why they are so specific, their use in pregnancy tests, detecting prostate cancer, locating tumours and delivering cancer treatment, and why they are not used as widely as first hoped.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Explain how a pregnancy test stick shows a positive result.

Key term

What is a monoclonal antibody?

Key term

Why can lymphocytes on their own not be used to make antibodies in large amounts?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is a monoclonal antibody?
Model answer
An antibody produced by identical cells cloned from a single lymphocyte, so every molecule binds to the same antigen.
2
Why is a mouse injected with an antigen at the start of monoclonal antibody production?
Model answer
So that its lymphocytes respond by making antibodies against that antigen, which can then be collected.
3
Why can lymphocytes on their own not be used to make antibodies in large amounts?
Model answer
Lymphocytes do not divide when grown outside the body, so they cannot be multiplied into a large enough population.
4
What is a hybridoma cell?
Model answer
A cell made by fusing a lymphocyte with a tumour cell, so that it both makes the antibody and divides endlessly.
5
Why is a tumour cell used in making a hybridoma?
Model answer
Tumour cells divide rapidly and without limit, so the fused cell can be grown into a very large clone.
6
Describe how monoclonal antibodies are produced.
Model answer
A mouse is injected with the antigen, its lymphocytes are collected and fused with tumour cells, and a single fused cell making the wanted antibody is cloned and grown so the antibody can be collected and purified.

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