Design and engineering human forms of monoclonal antibodies

The antibody molecule has multiple properties that make it a key component of the immune response. These include its ability to recognize a vast array of different foreign substrates and to interact with and activate the host effector systems. Antibodies with defined specificities may serve as "magic bullets" for the diagnosis and therapy of multiple diseases. With the development of the hybridoma technology, it was possible to produce rodent (mouse or rat) monoclonal antibodies that are the product of a single clone of antibody producing cells and have only one antigen binding specificity. However, the therapeutic use of rodent monoclonals antibodies in humans is limited by their immunogenicity, short circulating half-life, and inability to efficiently trigger human effector mechanisms. However, it proved difficult to produce human monoclonal antibodies using the same methods. To address these problems genetic engineering and expression systems have instead been used to produce chimeric, humanized, and totally human antibodies as well as antibodies with novel structures and functional properties. In addition, the use of yeast and human artificial chromosome vectors for animal transgenesis has allowed the development of animal models that produce antigen specific antibodies that are totally human. As a consequence, recombinant antibody-based therapies are now used to treat a variety of clinical conditions including infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer. This article summarizes and compares different strategies for designing and engineering human antibodies and their derivatives. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.