Monoclonal antibodies. Clinical relevance to pediatrics.

Monoclonal antibodies are identical antibodies with the same binding specificity that can be generated in unlimited amounts by construction of continuous cultures of single antibody-secreting cells. These cell lines are produced by cell fusion of lymphocytes of an animal that produces desired antibody to cells of a myeloma tumor cell line, which confers, on the antibody-producing hybrid cell, immortality and the ability to grow as a tumor in animals. Monoclonal antibodies can be produced to complex, impure antigens. The antibodies are replacing conventional, polyclonal antisera in immunologic assays and are being widely applied to the study of the pathogenesis and to the diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases.