A to Z of MS Monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are a class of drug that targets a specific cell or area of the body.

Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to fight foreign substances, such as infections. Each antibody is targeted at a single type of cell, although the body will make millions of copies of a specific antibody during the immune response. Monoclonal antibodies can be produced in large quantities in cell culture in a laboratory. They can be designed to bind to proteins on the body's normal cells, altering the immune response.

In terms of drugs production, this means that if antibodies can be identified that bind to cells that are involved in attacking nerve cells and causing disease activity in MS, maybe treatments can be developed that will only affect those cells.

Examples of monoclonal antibodies include:

natalizumab (Tysabri) which binds to and disables the area of white blood cells that allows them to cross the blood brain barrier, effectively keeping cells that might attack myelin from coming into contact with the brain or spinal cord
alemtuzumab (Campath) which binds to proteins on the surface of white blood cells that is associated with causing them to attack the myelin on nerves

The World Health Organisations standards for naming drugs means that all monoclonal antibodies have a name ending with 'mab'.

Research into these drugs suggests that they will be more effective than existing treatments at reducing the number of relapses. However, it has also been shown that they can have serious side effects and any treatment with a monoclonal antibody will need to include monitoring for, and treatment of, these effects.