In the September 2003 issue of Nature Biotechnology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas describe a new procedure they’ve developed to speed up the production of antibodies in mice as well as producing higher quality antibodies.
Center director Stephen Johnston led a team of researchers in the 1990s that first demonstrated genetic immunization, and this new research builds on the earlier discovery.
Traditionally, animals such as mice will produce antibodies after being exposed to a specific protein. So-called genetic immunization achieves the same results by injecting the gene for the protein into the animal (in this case, mice).
The newly announced technique uses the antigen gene the researchers want to target, as well as modifying a gene that controls an immune system signaling compound.
The upshot is that not only do the mice pump put the desired antibody quickly, but almost any antibody can be produced this way. In a press release, Johnston said,
A surprising result [of the research] was that we could even make mice make antibodies to their own proteins. We think this system could be used to make antibodies to all the proteins in the genome. We hope these antibodies will contribute to discoveries that drive new advances in disease treatment.
Sources:
Mice become high-output antibody factories. Reuters, August 11, 2003.
Faster method for creating antibodies in mice discovered by UT Southwestern researchers. Press Release, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, August 11, 2003.