Recombinant antibodies offer a powerful tool for researchers and clinicians alike, providing a versatile and customizable approach to studying and treating disease. Creative Biolabs develops high-quality recombinant antibodies and offers cutting-edge services in recombinant antibody expression and customized recombinant antibodies.
A recombinant antibody is a type of antibody that is generated using genetic engineering techniques rather than being derived from an animal or human. These techniques involve introducing genes encoding for the antibody into cells, which then produce the antibody in large quantities. They consist mainly of the variable region of both the heavy and the light chains of immunoglobulin. Recombinant antibodies are designed to have specific properties, such as increased affinity for their target or improved stability, and can be engineered to meet specific research or therapeutic needs.
Immunoglobulin G (IgG)
IgGs consist of two distinct polypeptide chains, a light chain (L) and a heavy chain (H) according to their molecular weights. Each chain contains one variable region (VH, VL). The light chain contains one constant region (CL), whereas the heavy chain has three constant regions (CH1-3).
Fig.1 Structures of an IgG.1
Single chain variable fragment (scFv)
The scFv is the smallest of the recombinant antibody types, consisting of variable (binding) portions of the antibody heavy (VH) and light (VL) chains, with a flexible linker connecting the terminal ends of either the VH to VL (or VL to VH). It is common and effective to employ a disease-specific scFv for targeted therapy by fusing it into therapeutic proteins or genes.
Fig.2 Structures of scFv fragments.1
Fab fragment
The Fab fragment is composed of one variable and one constant domain of both light and heavy chains, which are connected by a disulfide bridge. Several drugs that have been generated from Fabs have now been approved. Fab fragment antibodies can also be used to detect unbound or free medicines in serum.
Fig.3 Structure of a Fab fragment.1
Bispecific recombinant antibody
Bispecific antibodies combine two distinct antigen binding specificities inside a single molecule. Bispecific antibodies may combine target molecules with two distinct cells, resulting in direct cytotoxicity.
Fig.4 Diagram of a bispecific antibody structure.
| Recombinant Antibody | Traditional Antibody | |
| Production Method | They are generated using genetic engineering techniques, where the genes encoding for the antibody are introduced into cells to produce the desired antibody. | They are typically derived from animals (such as mice or rabbits) or humans, and are obtained through immunization and subsequent isolation from serum. |
| Customization | They can be engineered to have specific properties, such as increased affinity for their target or improved stability, to meet research or therapeutic needs. | They generally lack the level of customization possible with recombinant antibodies though to some degree of variability due to natural immune responses. |
| Specificity and Immunogenicity | They maintain a high level of specificity and low immunogenicity over time. | They may lose their capability to produce the targeted antibody over time or undergo undesirable changes that influence its functionality. |
| Consistency and Reproducibility | They offer greater consistency in terms of production and quality. | They have low reproducibility. |
| Scale of Production | They can be produced in large quantities using cell culture systems, allowing for greater scalability. | Traditional antibody production methods are often limited by the availability of suitable animal donors. |
Biomedical research
Recombinant antibodies can be used as research tools to study the roles of specific intercellular and extracellular proteins, protein-protein interactions, protein expression and localization, and protein structure and to identify new drug targets, develop drugs.
Therapeutics
Recombinant antibodies may treat infectious infections, autoimmune illnesses, and cancer. They can be engineered to target specific antigens on cancer cells or viruses, and can also be used as immunomodulators to regulate the immune system.
Imaging
Recombinant antibodies can be applied to preclinical assessment of patient responses to immunotherapy, such as immune-positron emission tomography (immunoPET), which involves conjugating antibodies against immunological checkpoint proteins with a radiotracer and imaging the patient in vivo.
Biodefense
Recombinant antibodies can be used in biodefense to detect and neutralize biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
Diagnostic tools
Recombinant antibodies can be used for diagnostic purposes in assays such as ELISA, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, lateral flow test, and other immunoassays to detect disease biomarkers or to measure drug levels in patients.
Recombinant antibody production follows a largely comparable methodology. The method comprises extracting antibody sequences using source cells, amplifying, and cloning the gene sequences into the necessary phage vector, inserting the vector within a host (bacteria, yeast, or mammalian cell lines), and attaining effective antibody expression.
Creative Biolabs possesses a mature recombinant antibody production platform that offers a one-stop shop for services ranging from the synthesis of genes to the high-quality production of recombinant antibodies. With experts' rich expertise and years of research experience, Creative Biolabs provides high-quality recombinant antibodies with good affinity and stability, as well as low endotoxin.
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