INDUCTION OF IMMUNE RESPONSE IN Camelus bactrianus AND Camelus dromedarius AGAINST MUC1 - PEPTIDE PRODUCED HEAVY-CHAIN ANTIBODIES WITH EFFICIENT COMBINING PROPERTIES

摘要

Camelidae are known to possess antibodies devoid of light chains and C_H1 domains. Antigen-specific fragments of these heavy-chain IgGs (VHH) are of great interest in biotechnology applications. We report here the first example of a successfully raised heavy-chains antibodies in Came/us dromedarius and Camelus bactrianus against the MUC1 peptide. Camels were immunised against cancerous tissue and peptide conjugated to bovine serum albumin. Both conventional and heavy-chain IgG antibodies were produced in response to MUC1 - peptide. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and Western blotting for MUC1 peptide conjugated to BSA, deglycosylated human milk fat globule membrane (HMFG), and cancerous breast tissues were established to investigate thelitre development. Three subclasses of IgG of both camels were separated chromatographically. All three subclasses of IgG in both of camels were bound to MUC1 peptide. This study demonstrates specific in vitro targeting of MUC1 peptide by camels heavy-chain antibodies. It may open prospective for their future and practical application as tumor-targeting tools, due to their small size and soluble behaviour.