CORE--MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY AND IMMUNOLOGY

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Monoclonal Antibody and Immunology Core Facility was established in 1995 to provide services to Cancer Center investigators, as well as investigators in the CWRU and Cleveland biomedical research community and has grown steadily since. The facility has several goals: 1) Provide expertise for the generation of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs). 2) Provide services for the production and purification of polyclonal Abs. 3) Provide access to hybridoma cell lines available in the public domain, and services in the production and purification of Mabs. 4) Provide assistance in setting up immunological assays. 5) Serve as a source where reagents can be exchanged, distributed, or stored. This Core Facility has been approved by the CWRU Animal Experimentation Protocol Review Board to carry out all necessary procedures for the immunization of animals. Therefore, individual investigators are not required to apply for individual animal permits. Since the development of hybridoma technology in the early 1970s, the use of Mabs in basic, translational, and clinical research has grown exponentially. Recent advances in gene array technologies and proteomics have significantly speeded up the identification of new genes and their products and future studies on the functions of these gene products require the availability of high quality Mab specific to each new gene product. We envision significant increases in the demand for Mabs in the era of bioinformatics. Moreover, advances in the cloning and expression of recombinant proteins in vitro will greatly enhance our ability to obtain large amounts of pure antigens for immunization and screening purposes. While the generation of monoclonal antibodies is a well-established technology, the facility has continued to seek new approaches. One significant progress made was using "knock-out" mice to overcome immunological tolerance. Most importantly, the facility will minimize the duplication of equipment, reagents, and personnel costs within the biomedical research community, in addition to enabling projects dependent on project-specific antibodies. Finally, to make the facility more interactive and receptive to user needs, a 3-member Advisory Committee of Cancer Center members has been established.