Mistakes happen. It’s a fact of life, and when mistakes occur during cell replication, the body has mechanisms to catch these errors and destroy the defective cells. However, when this system fails, it can lead to tumor growth and to cancer.

Viruses use a variety of processes to evade the immune system and buy time to replicate. Some of these processes include inhibition of the humoral response, interfering, inhibiting, and modulating interferons, cytokines, chemokines, and apoptosis, as well as evading MHC. As viruses co-evolve with their hosts, they find new ways to evade detection.

The SARS-CoV-2 genome is ~29 kb divided into 10 open reading frames (ORFs). Each of these ORFs (except seemingly ORF10) is translated in 29 different proteins.

Cytokine Storm and COVID-19

Garnering mass attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the “cytokine storm” has been observed for decades. Cytokine storm refers to the overproduction of cytokines by the body in response to an infection. The production of cytokines is a normal part of the body’s immune response, but in some cases, the body tries to clear the infection so much so that the collateral damage done to the body is life-threatening. 

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been transformative in enabling the immune system, specifically T-cells, to target and eliminate cancerous cells. While there has been much progress in understanding the interaction between T-cells, tumors, and the mechanism of action of checkpoint inhibitors, there are still many remaining basic research questions. Answering these questions requires reliable reagents, specifically antibodies. This blog reviews the importance of checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy and describes some best practices for choosing the right immuno-oncology antibody for your research needs. 

How to Detect Single Domain Antibodies

Scientists interested in single domain antibodies tend to know that they do not have constant domains. This leads to them asking; how do you go about detecting single domain antibodies? Find out here with ProSci!

Why are antibodies produced in the body?

Antibodies are produced in the body to serve 3 major purposes in the immune system: neutralization, opsonization, and compliment protein activation. Each of these functions helps to protect the body from potentially harmful pathogens. Learn more at ProSci Inc.

Antibody Basics: Selecting Antigens

Selecting the proper antigen is paramount for assuring  the development of desired antibodies; however, the proper antigen must still maintain immunoreacivity in order to develop antibodies. This dilemma can be solved for for several antigens. In this blog we discuss targeting glycosylated proteins and highly conserved mammalian proteins for antibody development.

Problems with Immunotherapy

Immune system checkpoint inhibition may not always be the perfect way to target cancer. Why is it that some patients do not respond positively to certain immunotherapy treatments like Ipilimumab? This blog takes into account the immune system's convoluted nature to understand how immune checkpoint antibodies may not be the problem, and how personalized medicine could help.

T-cell Activation: The Purpose of CD28, CTLA-4, and CD80/CD86 

Cancer immunotherapy involves targeting receptors and ligands of T-cells and tumor cells to amplify an immune response. By targeting these receptors and ligands, T-cell anti-cancer activity can be regulated. This blog explains how the receptors CD28 and CTLA-4 and their ligands CD80 and CD86 are involved in T-cell activation and inhibition. Take a look!