Anti-Idiotype Monoclonal Ab

Idiotypes are derived from the CDR region of the Ig variable domains of heavy and light chain. They are frequently conformational in nature resulting from the somatic hypermutation of the V-D-J segments of the antibody joining genes. There are two types of idiotype epitopes, specifically idiotope and paratope. The idiotope consists of the conserved framework of the variable domains. The paratope consists of the antigen binding domains which are antigen-specific. Monoclonal antibodies can be produced against the idiotope or paratope portion of the antibody. The derived antibodies are called anti-idiotype antibodies. Immunogen for the monoclonal antibody production can be of protein or DNA origin for immunization. Anti-idiotype antibodies are useful for antibody drug pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics studies and as anti-idiotype vaccines.