The Effects of Somatic Mutation on the Binding Affinities of Antibodies in a HUG Transgene Model. The Effects of Somatic Mutation on the Binding Affinities of Antibodies in a HUG Transgene Model. The resultant need for antibody diversity is fulfilled, in part, by somatic mutation.
Somatic mutation is the random point mutation of antibody genes due to interaction with an antigen.
It is hypothesized that somatic mutations induced by encounters with an antigen result in antibodies with increased affinity. My research tests this hypothesis by analyzing the affinity and avidity of somatically mutated transgenic antibodies. Our goal is to determine whether or not a transgenic immunoglobulin can undergo somatic mutation and affinity maturation.