EXPRESSION OF ANTIBODY FRAGMENTS IN ESCHERICHIA-COLI

Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) offer great opportunities for study, both as possible clinical agents, and as models for intermolecular interactions. Recently, it has been demonstrated that prokaryotic organisms, most notably Escherichia coli, can serve as hosts for the production of antibody fragments that retain the binding specificity of the parental immunoglobulin. A variety of structures and specificities have been successfully produced. However, results and interpretations have been somewhat confusing. Here we review and discuss reports of expression of antibody fragments in E. coli with respect to protein structure, genetic regulation, protein folding and subcellular localization.