0:00
Hello, I'm Katja Hanack,
Professor of Immunotechnology at
the University of
Potsdam in Germany.
Today I'm going to talk
about antibody discovery,
especially, therapeutic
antibody development.
0:14
Within the next minutes,
I would like to talk
about the main questions,
what are therapeutic antibodies?
What does it mean to generate
therapeutic antibodies?
How is the generation
process done in general?
Also, what are the
challenges when using
these antibodies as a
therapeutic treatment?
0:36
What is meant by the term
therapeutic antibodies?
Antibodies in general
are induced in vivo
as part of our adaptive
immune response
and after infection
with pathogens,
so-called antigen-presenting
cells are processing
and presenting part of the
pathogen to T and B cells.
This induces an activation
cascade where T cells
are differentiated into
effector and helper cells
secreting cytokines which
could act in different ways.
For antibody generation,
the immune response
is based on two
important signals.
One signal is the induction
of T helper cells,
which secrete B
cells and cytokines,
such as IL-4, IL-5, or 13.
The B cell is just
recognizing the pathogen with
the corresponding B cell
receptor on the cell surface.
A third situation is present.
The B cell gets a specific
activation signal to start
with the maturation and release
of the B cell receptor,
and the soluble B cell receptor
is called an antibody,
and is part of the
humoral immune response.
Antibodies are highly specific
for their corresponding antigen
and are therefore of high
interest for research,
diagnostics, and
therapeutic applications.
The spectrum of using
antibodies is manyfold.
In general, it is possible to
induce specific antibodies
against all given structures;
on cells, bacteria,
viruses, and also again,
on soluble components,
such as proteins, hormones,
toxins or nucleic acids.
These variable properties
allow mammalians to possess
possess a highly sophisticated
and adaptable system
to react against all
types of pathogens
and disease conditions.
The body is producing a
diverse antibody repertoire
against different diseases
and protects the body
against pathogens.
To use this capability
for the generation of
customized antibody
formats in vitro is,
of course, of high interest
for biomedical applications.
