Am I right in thinking the '415 patent is irrelevant to the production of 'fully human' antibodies ?
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to antibodies and to non-specific immunoglobulins (NSIs) formed by recombinant techniques using suitable host cell cultures. These antibodies and NSIs can be readily prepared in pure "monoclonal" form. They can be manipulated at the genomic level to produce chimeras of variants which draw their homology from species which differ from each other. They can also be manipulated at the protein level, since all four chains do not need to be produced by the same cell. Thus, there are a number of "types" of immunoglobulins encompassed by the invention.
First, immunoglobulins, particularly antibodies, are produced using recombinant techniques which mimic the amino acid sequence of naturally occurring antibodies produced by either mammalian B cells in situ, or by B cells fused with suitable immortalizing tumor lines, i.e., hybridomas. Second, the methods of this invention produce, and the invention is directed to, immunoglobulins which comprise polypeptides not hitherto found associated with each other in nature. Such reassembly is particularly useful in producing "hybrid" antibodies capable of binding more than one antigen; and in producing "composite" immunoglobulins wherein heavy and light chains of different origins essentially damp out specificity. Third, by genetic manipulation, "chimeric" antibodies can be formed wherein, for example, the variable regions correspond to the amino acid sequence from one mammalian model system, whereas the constant region mimics the amino acid sequence of another. Again, the derivation of these two mimicked sequences may be from different species. Fourth, also by genetic manipulation, "altered" antibodies with improved specificity and other characteristics can be formed.
Two other types of immunoglobulin-like moieties may be produced: "univalent" antibodies, which are useful as homing carriers to target tissues, and "Fab proteins" which include only the "Fab" region of an immunoglobulin molecule i.e., the branches of the "Y". These univalent antibodies and Fab fragments may also be "mammalian" i.e., mimic mammalian amino acid sequences; novel assemblies of mammalian chains, or chimeric, where for example, the constant and variable sequence patterns may be of different origin. Finally, either the light chain or heavy chain alone, or portions, thereof, produced by recombinant techniques are included in the invention and may be mammalian or chimeric.
In other aspects, the invention is directed to DNA which encodes the aforementioned NSIs, antibodies, and portions thereof, as well as expression vectors or plasmids capable of effecting the production of such immunoglobulins in suitable host cells. It includes the host cells and cell cultures which result from transformation with these vectors. Finally, the invention is directed to methods of producing these NSIs and antibodies, and the DNA sequences, plasmids, and transformed cells intermediate to them. |
