Monospecific antibodies are antibodies that all have affinity for the same antigen

Antigen

An antigen is a foreign molecule that, when introduced into the body, triggers the production of an antibody by the immune system. The immune system will then kill or neutralize the antigen that is recognized as a foreign and potentially harmful invader. These invaders can be molecules such as...

. Monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are monospecific antibodies that are the same because they are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell....

are monospecific, but monospecific antibodies may also be produced by other means than producing them from a common germ cell.

Hybridoma cell

Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing the spleen cells from a mouse that has been immunized with the desired antigen with myeloma cells. However, recent advances have allowed the use of rabbit B-cells.

PrEST

Another way of producing monospecific antibodies are by PrESTs. A PrEST (protein epitope signature tag) is a type of recombinantly produced human protein fragment. They are inserted into an animal, e.g. rabbit, which produces antibodies against the fragment. These antibodies are monospecific against the human protein.