Patent ID: 7671179

Claim:
A method of producing a monoclonal antibody having an increased affinity for the antigen to which it binds relative to a monoclonal antibody comprising a light chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:21 and a heavy chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:18 that binds said antigen, the method comprising: substituting with proline an amino acid in SEQ ID NO:21 within said monoclonal antibody comprising a light chain variable region comprising SEQ ID NO:21 and a heavy chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:18, thereby generating a proline-substituted monoclonal antibody, determining the binding affinity of said proline-substituted monoclonal antibody for said antigen, comparing the binding affinity of said proline-substituted monoclonal antibody for said antigen to the binding affinity of said monoclonal antibody comprising a light chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:21 and a heavy chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:18 for said antigen, and selecting a proline-substituted antibody having increased affinity for said antigen relative to said monoclonal antibody comprising a light chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:21 and a heavy chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:18, thereby producing said monoclonal antibody having increased binding affinity for said antigen.