Antibodies on demand: A fast method for the production of human scFvs with minimal amounts of antigen
Abstract Background Antibodies constitute a powerful tool to study protein function, protein localization and protein-protein interactions, as well as for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. High-throughput antibody development requires faster methodologies with lower antigen consumption. Results Here, we describe a novel methodology to select human monoclonal recombinant antibodies by combining in vitro protein expression, phage display antibody libraries and antibody microarrays. The application of this combination of methodologies permitted us to generate human single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) against two proteins: green fluorescent protein (GFP) and thioredoxin (Trx) in a short time, using as low as 5 μg of purified protein. These scFvs showed specific reactivity against their respective targets and worked well by ELISA and western blot. The scFvs were able to recognise as low as 31 ng of protein of their respective targets by western blot. Conclusion This work describes a novel and miniaturized methodology to obtain human monoclonal recombinant antibodies against any target in a shorter time than other methodologies using only 5 μg of protein. The protocol could be easily adapted to a high-throughput procedure for antibody production. ; RB was supported by a JAE-Doc contract (CSIC). AP is a recipient of a predoctoral FPI grant of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation BIO2009-08818 and Colomics Programme of the regional government of Madrid.We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI). ; Peer Reviewed