In the coming 15 weeks we will demonstrate how to use the computer to design laboratory experiments aimed at producing a protein from an expression vector. The protein of choice is an antibody molecule specific for the hepatitis B virus.
Antibodies are a group of proteins known as immunoglobulins.
There are only two kinds of light chain in most mammals, known as lambda and kappa. Thus we are interested in expressing an antibody which consists of a gamma heavy chain and a kappa light chain. Thus we will have to utilize two transcription units, producing one messenger RNA for the H chain and one for the L chain. Although this is a simulation, we will avoid taking any kind of liberties, in other words the experimental design should work if implemented in the laboratory. We will use published sequences and expression vectors taken from genetic databases.