4 ms·

Yes, it lacks scalability because the source of the replacement immunoglobulin (antibodies) is blood donors, of which there are a limited amount.

by quasque 12y ago

suby 12y ago
I know nothing about this so forgive my ignorance, but could synthetic blood provide what's needed? From what I understand we're making progress with synthesizing blood. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10765132/Artificial-blood-will-be-manufactured-in-factories.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10765132/Artifi...
- ghkbrew 12y ago
  Pretty much no. Most synthetic blood efforts are focused on replacing the oxygen-carrying components of blood i.e. red blood cells and the hemoglobin they contain. That is what's needed in emergency settings and surgery where lack of blood flow can kill tissues in minutes. Immunoglobulins (aka antibodies) are important for preventing infection and thus long term health but they would be difficult to impossible to produce synthetically.
  - asdkl234890 12y ago
    * Immunoglobulins (aka antibodies) are important for preventing infection and thus long term health but they would be difficult to impossible to produce synthetically.* Even with hybridomas?
    - ghkbrew 12y ago
      Yes, there are ways of producing antibodies outside the body. One could argue whether hybridomas (essentially immortalized b-cells used to produce a specific antibody) constitute truly synthetic production. I considered mentioning them, but decided it was probably more in depth answer than the GP's question really needed. Since you asked though, I don't think hybridomas really solve the difficulty of reconstituting a persons antibodies ex vivo. A healthy human has somewhere around a trillion different antibodies circulating. I would conservatively estimate that the research community has produced a few thousand different hybridomas since they were first described in 1975. The problem of scaling that or any other in vitro technique to the trillions seems unlikely to be solved. Now, I get into the domain of wild speculation. What you'd really need is a single system capable of producing a nearly unlimited variety of different antibodies. The most viable option to my mind would be a transgenic mammal (let's say a goat since it's easy to get antibodies from milk) which would produce humanized antibodies. However, given the relatively small demand for such treatments, I think any such efforts are unlikely.
asdkl234890 12y ago
Can't we use hybridoma to make immunoglobulin?

Yes, it lacks scalability because the source of the replacement immunoglobulin (antibodies) is blood donors, of which there are a limited amount.

by quasque 12y ago

Yes, it lacks scalability because the source of the replacement immunoglobulin (antibodies) is blood donors, of which there are a limited amount.

suby 12y ago

I know nothing about this so forgive my ignorance, but could synthetic blood provide what's needed? From what I understand we're making progress with synthesizing blood. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10765132/Artificial-blood-will-be-manufactured-in-factories.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10765132/Artifi...

ghkbrew 12y ago
Pretty much no. Most synthetic blood efforts are focused on replacing the oxygen-carrying components of blood i.e. red blood cells and the hemoglobin they contain. That is what's needed in emergency settings and surgery where lack of blood flow can kill tissues in minutes. Immunoglobulins (aka antibodies) are important for preventing infection and thus long term health but they would be difficult to impossible to produce synthetically.
- asdkl234890 12y ago
  * Immunoglobulins (aka antibodies) are important for preventing infection and thus long term health but they would be difficult to impossible to produce synthetically.* Even with hybridomas?
  - ghkbrew 12y ago
    Yes, there are ways of producing antibodies outside the body. One could argue whether hybridomas (essentially immortalized b-cells used to produce a specific antibody) constitute truly synthetic production. I considered mentioning them, but decided it was probably more in depth answer than the GP's question really needed. Since you asked though, I don't think hybridomas really solve the difficulty of reconstituting a persons antibodies ex vivo. A healthy human has somewhere around a trillion different antibodies circulating. I would conservatively estimate that the research community has produced a few thousand different hybridomas since they were first described in 1975. The problem of scaling that or any other in vitro technique to the trillions seems unlikely to be solved. Now, I get into the domain of wild speculation. What you'd really need is a single system capable of producing a nearly unlimited variety of different antibodies. The most viable option to my mind would be a transgenic mammal (let's say a goat since it's easy to get antibodies from milk) which would produce humanized antibodies. However, given the relatively small demand for such treatments, I think any such efforts are unlikely.

asdkl234890 12y ago

Can't we use hybridoma to make immunoglobulin?