Antibody Engineering Protocols: 51 (Methods in Molecular Biology, 51) - Softcover

 
9780896032750: Antibody Engineering Protocols: 51 (Methods in Molecular Biology, 51)

Synopsis

Antibodies are the instraments of immune defense and attack. They can bind small atomic arrays as well as large epitopes with high affinity. Antibody Engineering Protocols presents advanced protocols in the field of antibody engineering, reviews of basic principles and methodology, and a historical perspective on the development of cur­ rently held beliefs about antibody structure-function relationships. The topics cover analysis of antibody sequences, three-dimensional structure, delineation of antibody characteristics in polyclonal mixtures, phage display of natural and synthetic antibodies, and antibody catalysis. Ligand recognition by antibodies occurs primarily at a subset of amino acid residues located in the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) found in the light (L) and heavy (H) chain subunits. Specific antibodies are developed by immunization with molecules identical to or related in structure to the target ligand. The immune repertoire from nonimmunized individuals also contains pre-existing specificities that can be selected by screening libraries composed of hybridoma cells or phage particles displaying F domains or indi­ vidual variable domains of the light (VJ and heavy (V^^) chains. Ran­ dom or site-directed mutagenesis in vitro can be used to refine the pre-existing specificities or produce new specificities de novo. Another level at which new specificities may be generated in vitro is V^ and V^ domain-swapping and CDR-swapping. The former procedure embodies a variation of natural mechanisms of generating antibody diversity. The latter procedure produces new intramolecular CDR combinations not found in nature.

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Synopsis

This comprehensive collection of recently developed methods for producing new antibody reagents by immunization and recombinant DNA techniques contains ready-to-use protocols that illuminate current areas of research on antibody structure, functions, and applications. The methods can be applied in basic immunological studies involving antibody specificity, catalysis, and evolution, and in the isolation of rare antibodies by phage display technology and the engineering of new antibodies by mutagenesis. They offer insight into new ways of developing clinically useful antibody reagents. Antibody Engineering Protocols constitutes a single-source volume for laboratory investigators who want to minimize extensive literature and methodology searches and to work productively in their fields with reproducible step-by-step protocols.

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