Ispectrum Magazine 16 | Page 37

features for the antigen. It is then possible to isolate the antibodies directly from the blood, or even isolate particular antibody-producing blood cells from the mixture extracted from certain animals, and initiate a complex biotechnological procedure for the production of an excess of a single antibody. Antibodies that are produced like this are called “monoclonal”—they emanate from one single cell line and bind just one particular epitope. Antibodies are very small and, even under a microscope, not readily visible, which is why they are specially prepared for the diagnostics. They are coupled with enzymes that produce visible colorants or are marked with fluorescing colorants. There are two methods: The direct and the indirect technique. The latter works with an added bridge that consists of another antibody (secondary antibody) that binds the first one (primary antibody). Antibodies help to distinguish tumor cells from each other One example is the antiIDH1 R132H monoclonal antibody clone H09 of DIANOVA GmbH, by which different brain tumors can be distinguished from each other. Originally developed by the renowned German Cancer Research Center, the antibody labels glio36 mas, which account for about 20 percent of all brain tumors. Differentiating gliomas from other brain tumors enables us to launch a targeted treatment and helps predict F