Fisher Scientific is a laboratory supplies and biotechnology company and offers antibodies, among other things. In accordance with relevant literature, antibodies are proteins that are produced by the immune system and serve to recognise antigens. According to the literature, antigens in turn are substances such as “viruses” or their proteins (note: however, pathogenic viruses have never been isolated and biochemically characterised) or proteins that are produced by our metabolic processes. Each antibody is now specific for a certain antigen and can bind the antigen.
An example of a Fisher Scientific antibody is a type of antibody designed to bind to the protein called FANCF. The following laboratory illustration shows how this antibody from Fisher Scientific binds specifically to the protein FANCF:
Description of the figure: The figure shows four samples (see above the figure, sample numbers: 1,2,3,4). Each sample consists of a mixture of different proteins. These different proteins were separated by size using a specific laboratory method. Large proteins are located above the figure, while smaller proteins are located further down, including the FANCF protein.
The red arrow indicates the protein FANCF, recognisable by the black line that can be seen in samples 3 and 4. This black line has been created because the specific antibody has attached itself to the FANCF protein. As can be seen in samples 1 and 2, the black line is missing at the height of the red arrow. This is to show that no FANCF protein is present in samples 1 and 2. The specific antibody was therefore unable to attach.
Now you can see in the image that there are more black lines. This means that the specific antibody against FANCF has also attached itself to other proteins that cannot be FANCF proteins due to their size. Therefore, this antibody is not a specific antibody for a certain antigen/protein, but attaches itself to other proteins. The binding of the assumed proteins can also be influenced by small changes in environmental variables. Factors such as pH, ionic strength or the presence of certain chemicals can cause antibodies to bind non-specifically to other proteins. This means that experimental conditions can significantly affect the observed specificity of the antibodies. In the figure, some of the non-specific binding could be due to the fact that even slight changes in buffer conditions or temperature already influence the interaction between antibody and protein. This makes it clear, by logical inference, that a conclusion or even proof of specificity – such as with the claimed ‘spike proteins’ – is completely impossible. Especially in vivo, the body is continuously exposed to constantly changing environmental variables, which further calls into question the stability and reproducibility of such antigen-antibody reactions.
Publications often do not show the entire image, but only the area of interest, which simulates specificity.
Conclusion: There are no specific antibodies. Each specific antibody would have to be tested against all possible proteins in order to rule out a non-specific reaction. However, this is not possible due to the large number of proteins. A further problem exists within the molecular concept of proteins, as proteins are not rigid structures, but wobble throughout and thus change their conformation. This is one of the reasons why the Robert Koch Institute does not recommend the determination of measles virus-specific IgG antibodies. Vaccination should be carried out instead.
Further information on this and other topics can be found on the science platform NEXT LEVEL – Wissen neu gedacht.
