Cancer Antibody Engineering: Comparison of Mammalian, Yeast, Bacterial, Plants, Cell-free and Hybridoma Expression Systems

Background: Cancer is a significant issue worldwide. Generally, commercially available treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, are associated with undesirable complications. Hence, immunotherapy serves as a crucial alternative to those treatment options. Objective: This modality is aimed to boost the immune system through the application of engineered antibodies, which can be produced using recombinant DNA technology. Results: The discussion of the technologies leads to an introduction of the single-chain variable fragment (scFv). Thereafter, the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges associated with different expression systems, such as mammalian cells, yeast cells, bacterial cells, plant cells, and phage display were discussed comprehensively. Conclusion: Furthermore, conventional approaches such as hybridoma and modern approaches such as cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) and simple colony assays are included. In short, this article has compiled evidence relating to each display system and may serve as a reference for those who aim to explore antibody engineering using one of the methods listed in this article.