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What are Chimeric Antibodies?
A chimeric antibody is an antibody molecule composed of gene fragments from different species that have been combined through genetic engineering technology to create a novel molecule with particular properties. These molecules were developed because of the lack of effectiveness of mouse antibodies in human therapeutics, as the foreign mouse protein elicited an immune response. To address this issue, chimeric antibodies were created - the variable regions of a mouse antibody were linked to the constant regions of a human antibody. The combination of mouse and human regions allows the antibody to retain specificity while reducing immunogenicity.
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Advantages of Chimeric Antibodies
High specificity: The variable regions of mouse antibodies retain their high specificity and affinity, and can accurately recognize and bind to target antigens.
Low immunogenicity: The constant region of human antibodies reduces the body's immune response to chimeric antibodies. This improves the safety and effectiveness of the antibodies.
Easy to produce: Chimeric antibodies can be efficiently produced in expression systems such as Escherichia coli, yeast, or mammalian cells through genetic engineering technology.
Applications of Chimeric Antibodies
Chimeric antibodies have been developed as therapeutics for a wide range of conditions. Abciximab, developed to prevent platelet aggregation in the cardiovascular system, was the first FDA approved chimeric antibody therapeutic. Rituximab was the first chimeric cancer treatment, approved to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Since then, many chimeric antibodies have been developed to treat a wide range of conditions, including Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lymphoma, and multiple types of cancer. Chimeric antibodies accurately target and bind to target antigens, and exert therapeutic effects by activating the human immune system or directly inhibiting the activity of pathogens.
Of particular interest in cancer and HIV research is the construction of chimeric Fcα-Fcγ antibodies. Current therapeutics only involve IgG Fc regions; however, IgA offers advantages of its own and has been proven to work synergistically with IgG. These chimeric antibodies have shown improved effector functions and possess the longer half life of IgG (over IgA), necessitating further research into this potential treatment option for HIV and cancer.
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