Single B cell monoclonal antibody technologies and applications

: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) contribute a lot to the development of numerous fields in life science as a pivotal tool in modern biological research. Development of the PCR methods and maturation of antibody production have made it possible to generate mAbs from single human B cells by single cell RT-PCR with successional cloning and expression in vitro. Compared to traditional monoclonal antibody technologies, single B cell technologies require relatively fewer cells, which are highly efficient in obtaining specific mAbs in a rapid way with preservation of the natural heavy and light chain pairing. With so many advantages, single B cell technologies have been proved to be an attractive approach for retrieval of naive and antigen-experienced antibody repertoires generated in vivo, design of rationale structure-based vaccine, evaluation and development of basic B cell biology concepts in health and autoimmunity, and prevention of infectious diseases by passive immunization and therapy for disorders. Accordingly, this review introduced recent progresses in the single B cell technologies for generating monoclonal antibodies and applications.