Browsing by Subject "Human antibodies"

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    Natural IgM antibodies: from parias to parvenus
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2006) Vollmers, H.P.; Brändlein, S.
    Over the years, natural IgM antibodies were considered as the parias among the immune competent molecules. Their characteristic properties, like low affinity, cross-reactivity and pentameric structure, were assessed as difficult and nebulous. Today, mainly based on the persistent work of a few researchers and the key discoveries on innate immunity, natural IgM antibodies are “back on stage”. Their important role in the immune response against invasive particles, modified selfcomponents and altered cells is accepted. All the so far negatively judged features have to be seen in a different light, e.g. low affinity seems to be good for function and does not exclude specificity, cross-reactivity is no longer judged as unspecific, but instead as a very economic way of immune recognition and the pentameric structure is important for binding capacity and functional activities. In addition, with the use of natural IgM antibodies, a new field of tumour-specific targets has been encountered, the carbo-neo-epitopes, which are commonly found on post-transscriptionally modified membrane receptors. Having understood the typical features of natural IgM antibodies, their renaissance opens a new area of cancer therapeutics and diagnostics.
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    The “early birds”: natural IgM antibodies and immune surveillance
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2005) Vollmers, H.P.; Brändlein, S.
    Precancerous epithelial lesions are sites of uncontrolled cellular proliferation generated by irreversible genetic alterations. Not all of those lesions progress to invasive cancer, some may even regress, but the early detection of abnormal cells can be crucial for patient survival. Immune surveillance mechanisms are responsible for the removal of transformed cells and antibodies play an important role in these immune processes. In the past, analysis of the immunoglobuline repertoire has focused mainly on xenoimmunizations or the investigation of cancer patient immunity. The human hybridoma technology (Trioma technique) offers the unique possibility to study the humoral immunity of healthy people. Using this technique a series of tumorbinding antibodies could be isolated which all have several features in common: they are germ-line coded IgM antibodies, they predominantly bind to carbohydrates on post-transcriptionally modified antigens, they induce apoptosis and, most importantly, they detect not only malignant cells but also precursor stages. These data demonstrate that the body has a comprehensive defense system against malignant cells based on the production of natural antibodies.