Recent advances in abzyme studies.

The first catalytic antibodies (abzymes) were reported in 1986. Since then abzymes catalyzing various types of reactions have been reported. There have been a number of reviews on the abzymes, so in this review I intended not to overlap them, but briefly described (i) the background of abzyme production, (ii) the catalytic mechanism of the enzymic reaction, and (iii) some examples of monoclonal and polyclonal abzymes. Recent advancements as to abzyme studies are the invention of an assay system for catalytic activity during cloning, the estimation of the solvent effect on abzyme-catalyzed decarboxylation, the production of abzymes catalyzing disfavored chemical reactions and cocaine hydrolysis, and the feasibility of the usage of polyclonal abzymes. Several advantages of polyclonal abzyme studies were also pointed out.