Editing Monoclonality

{{Short description|In biology, cells derived from a single clonal origin}}

In [[biology]], '''monoclonality''' refers to the state of a line of [[Cell (biology)|cells]] that have been derived from a single clonal origin.<ref name="Monoclonal" >{{Cite web|title=Monoclonal definition – Biology Online|url=https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/monoclonal}}</ref> Thus, "monoclonal cells" can be said to form a single [[cloning#Cellular cloning|clone]]. The term ''monoclonal'' comes {{ety|grc|monos|alone, single||klon|twig}}.<ref name="Mosby-monoclonal">{{Cite book
|chapter=Monoclonal |title=Mosby's Medical Dictionary |edition=8th |date=2009 |publisher=Elsevier
|url=http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/monoclonal
|access-date=June 13, 2018 }}</ref>

The process of replication can occur ''[[in vivo]]'', or may be stimulated ''[[in vitro]]'' for laboratory manipulations.  The use of the term typically implies that there is some method to distinguish between the cells of the original population from which the single ancestral cell is derived, such as a [[Mutation|random genetic alteration]], which is [[Heredity|inherited]] by the progeny.

Common usages of this term include:
* [[Monoclonal antibody]]:  a single [[Hybridoma technology|hybridoma]] cell, which by chance includes the appropriate [[V(D)J recombination]] to produce the desired [[antibody]], is cloned to produce a large population of identical cells.  In informal laboratory jargon, the monoclonal antibodies isolated from [[cell culture]] [[Precipitation (chemistry)|supernatant]]s of these hybridoma clones (hybridoma lines) are simply called ''monoclonals''.
* Monoclonal [[neoplasm]] (tumor): A single aberrant cell which has undergone [[carcinogenesis]] reproduces itself into a cancerous mass.
* Monoclonal plasma cell (also called [[plasma cell dyscrasia]]): A single aberrant plasma cell which has undergone carcinogenesis reproduces itself, which in some cases is cancerous.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biology terminology]]