The Nomenclature of Monoclonal Antibodies

Hybridoma technology is a relatively new tool for the development of biochemical reagents having wide applicability in many areas of biology and chemistry. These reagents are termed “immunoreagents” because they are produced by cultured cell lines selected for their ability to secrete immunoreactive substances. The most common of these immunoreagents are monoclonal antibodies (MABs), which exhibit complex reactivity patterns although they are specific to unique epitopes. Epitopes are antigenic determinants of specific structure, i.e., chemically active structural components of proteins and complex carbohydrates which interact with antibodies (immunoglobulins). MABs developed through hybridoma technology are highly specific to individual epitope topologies, but because similar epitopes can be found on diverse proteins and polysaccharides, the MABs may react with dissimilar cell types or biochemical substances, despite their definition as “reagents of defined specificity”.