Lamprey Variable Lymphocyte Receptor Monoclonal Antibodies for Whole-Cell Surface Antigens.

Lamprey antibodies, the variable lymphocyte receptor B proteins (VLRB), have unique properties that make them promising alternatives to jawed vertebrate immunoglobulin domain antibodies. These leucine-rich repeat proteins exhibit a diversity on par with that of jawed vertebrate antibodies but are structurally completely distinct. VLRB antibodies have been successfully raised to a variety of antigens. A procedure for high-throughput screening of full-length lamprey VLRB libraries using whole cells is described here. Lamprey antibodies against cell surface antigens can be generated and screened quickly using this method.