Description

About the Huacaya Alpaca

Alpacas are a member of the camelid family, which also includes camels, llamas, vicuñas, and guanacos. Primarily domesticated in the high Andes of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile, there are two main breeds of alpacas, Huacaya and Suri. Huacaya alpacas are extensively bred not only for their soft and dense fleece but also for their unique biological characteristics, which make them important for scientific research. They have become increasingly prominent in fields such as immunology and biomedical sciences.

Camelids are known to produce “heavy chain IgG antibodies” (HCAb), structurally distinct from those in humans and most other mammals. Unlike conventional antibodies, which consist of two heavy chains and two light chains, camelid antibodies like those from alpacas lack light chains. From these antibodies, smaller single heavy-chain proteins can be derived, known as V_HH or nanobodies. These nanobodies can bind to antigens with high specificity and affinity, and their small size allows them to access epitopes that are typically unreachable by traditional antibodies. This characteristic is highly beneficial for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, including targeted drug delivery systems, cancer therapy, and disease diagnostics.

Application Summary for Huacaya Alpaca Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs)

Alpaca PBMCs have a broad range of applications in biomedical and immunology research due to their production of nanobodies. These antibodies exhibit structural homology with human VH3 antibodies, which contributes to their reduced immunogenicity compared to conventional antibodies. Single-domain antibodies have been utilized in developing various clinical therapeutics for conditions such as cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and neurological diseases.

Single-domain antibodies are distinguished by their small size, approximately 15 kDa in molecular weight, and they exhibit high thermal and chemical stability, solubility, and target specificity. These properties make them invaluable as diagnostic reagents in various assays. They are particularly useful in techniques aimed at detecting biomarkers, pathogens, and other relevant targets, including ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry.

Isolation of PBMCs

Peripheral blood is obtained from responsible facilities that have many years of experience collecting samples.

Once blood is received at our lab, PBMCs are isolated by performing density centrifugation with Ficoll, a high molecular weight sucrose solution, to remove red blood cells and other non-PBMCs under sterile conditions. An alpaca specific optimized Ficoll density gradient is used, resulting in a defined layer of mononuclear cells that are separated from plasma, platelets, granulocytes, and erythrocytes. Additional quality control measures are taken to isolate and prepare PBMCs that ensure the highest viability for cryopreservation and downstream experimental applications.

Cryopreservation and Storage

Our alpaca PBMCs are cryopreserved carefully using iQ Biosciences’ cryopreservation protocol that ensures high viability (> 80%) after thawing.

Cells should be stored at < -120°C once they are received, such as within a liquid nitrogen tank (vapor phase and not submerging the vials in liquid nitrogen).