Catalytic Antibodies

Molecular biology has made possible the preparation of homogeneous antibodies in large amounts, thereby enhancing their applications as diagnostic and therapeutic tools. This text explores the preparation of catalytic antibodies and offers insights into the mechanisms of biological catalysis.

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Catalytic Antibodies Chairman: W.P. Jencks 1991 Antibodies are a key component of the immune system which protects higher organisms from invading pathogens. Molecular biology has made possible the preparation of homogeneous (monoclonal) antibodies in large amounts, thereby enhancing their applicability as diagnostic and therapeutic tools in biology and medicine. A recent advance with profound ramifications for chemistry is the recognition that monoclonal antibodies can possess catalytic activity. Using transition state analogues of certain chemical reactions as haptens, antibodies can be generated that bind such analogues with their characteristic high affinity. The antibody may then bind the substrate of the chemical reaction and some of the binding energy may be used to alter the conformation of the substrate to that of the transition state. Antibodies have been shown to catalyse a range of basic organic reactions, including ester and amide hydrolyses, the Claisen rearrangement and the Diels - Alder reaction; the list of possible reactions is much longer.
Expression of the antigen-binding portions of antibodies in bacteria will facilitate screening, either for binding activity or directly for catalysis. Interest is also focused on ways to introduce reactive groups, such as metal ions, into the binding site of antibodies to increase the rate of catalysis. As well as their potential commercial applications, particularly to catalyse reactions for which there are no known enzymes, antibodies promise to provide valuable insight into the detailed mechanisms of biological catalysis and organic chemistry. Related Ciba Foundation Symposia: No 119 Synthetic peptides as antigens Chairman: G.L. Ada 1986 ISBN 0 471 91203 4 No 158 Host - guest molecular interactions: from chemistry to biology Chairman: I.O. Sutherland 1991 ISBN 0 471 92958 1 No 161 Protein conformation Chairman: F. Richards 1991 ISBN 0 471 92969 7