Recombinant antibodies offer several key advantages compared to traditional antibodies. These include superior lot-to-lot consistency, continuous supply, and animal-free manufacturing. As such, recombinant antibodies are seeing increased use for scientific research, especially as a means of addressing the ongoing reproducibility crisis.
Traditional polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies are the product of normal B cell development and genetic recombination. They are generated by immunizing an animal with an antigen to elicit an immune response. While polyclonal antibodies are secreted by many different B cell clones and recognize multiple antigenic epitopes, monoclonals originate from a single B cell clone and are specific for just one epitope.
Recombinant antibodies are monoclonal, but their production involves in vitro genetic manipulation. After cloning the antibody genes into an expression vector, this is then transfected into an appropriate host cell line for antibody expression. Mammalian cell lines are most commonly used for recombinant antibody production, although cell lines of bacterial, yeast, or insect origin are also suitable.
Because recombinant antibody production involves sequencing the antibody light and heavy chains, it is a highly controlled and reliable process. In contrast, hybridoma-based systems for producing monoclonal antibodies are subject to genetic drift and instability, increasing the potential for lot-to-lot variability or loss of antibody expression. Recombinant antibodies are highly consistent from lot to lot, thereby ensuring reproducible experimental results.
In vitro methods for producing antibodies are amenable to large-scale production, meaning antibody availability is unlikely to become a limiting factor. Moreover, since the recombinant antibody sequence is known, continuity of supply is assured; in situations where an antibody will be used to support large, long-term studies, this can be an especially critical factor.
Unlike traditional methods for antibody production, recombinant approaches avoid the need to use animals. Where polyclonal antibodies are purified directly from the serum of the immunized host, and monoclonals are purified from either hybridoma-derived tissue culture supernatant or ascites, recombinant antibodies are instead purified from the tissue culture supernatants of transfected host cell lines. Regardless of whether an antibody is polyclonal, monoclonal or recombinant, it must always be properly validated in the intended application prior to experimental use. At CST, we adhere to the Hallmarks of Antibody Validation™, six complementary strategies for determining the specificity, sensitivity, and functionality of an antibody in any given assay. By carefully tailoring these strategies to each antibody product, we guarantee that CST antibodies will work as expected, to help you achieve results you can trust.
| Cat. # | Size | Qty. | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56471SF | 100 µg |
|
| REACTIVITY | H M |
| SENSITIVITY | Endogenous |
| MW (kDa) | 51 |
| Source/Isotype | Rabbit IgG |
Product Information
Human, Mouse
Monoclonal antibody is produced by immunizing animals with recombinant protein specific to full-length human IRF-4 protein.
Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) comprise a family of transcription factors that function within the Jak/Stat pathway to regulate interferon (IFN) and IFN-inducible gene expression in response to viral infection (1). IRFs play an important role in pathogen defense, autoimmunity, lymphocyte development, cell growth, and susceptibility to transformation. The IRF family includes nine members: IRF-1, IRF-2, IRF-9/ISGF3γ, IRF-3, IRF-4 (Pip/LSIRF/ICSAT), IRF-5, IRF-6, IRF-7, and IRF-8/ICSBP. All IRF proteins share homology in their amino-terminal DNA-binding domains. IRF family members regulate transcription through interactions with proteins that share similar DNA-binding motifs, such as IFN-stimulated response elements (ISRE), IFN consensus sequences (ICS), and IFN regulatory elements (IRF-E) (2).
IRF-4 was independently cloned by three groups and demonstrated to have roles in different contexts of lymphoid regulation (3-5). First, IRF-4 (Pip) was found to associate with PU.1, a hematopoietic specific member of the ETS family, and to regulate the expression of B-cell specific genes (3). Second, it was characterized as a lymphoid-specific member of the IRF family (LSIRF) able to bind to ISRE (4). Third, it was identified in activated T cells as a factor that binds to the promoter of the interleukin-5 gene (ICSAT), and it was shown to repress gene activation induced by IFN (5). IRF-4 is expressed in all stages of B cell development and in mature T cells, and is inducible in primary lymphocytes by antigen mimetic stimuli such as concavalin A, CD3 crosslinking, anti-IgM and PMA treatment (4,5). Mice deficient in IRF-4 show normal distribution of B and T lymphocytes at 4 to 5 weeks, but later develop progressive generalized lymphadenopathy, suggesting a role for IRF-4 in the function and homeostasis of mature B- and T-lymphocytes (6).
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