There are several mechanisms of action for the antibacterial effect of mAb. The first proposed mechanism involves mAb bind to the target antigen on the surface of the pathogen, changes the conformation of the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region [
157], and promotes complement component 1q (C1q) to recognize and bind to the antibody-binding site. Subsequently, the complement activation system is activated to form a membrane attack complex [
158], which eventually leads to bacterial cell lysis and death [
158–
160]. mAb 17H12 and 8F12 have been isolated from mice inoculated with a mixture of anthrax protective antigen coupled with
K. pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide (CPS). These two mAbs specifically bind to the CPS epitope of the carbapenem-resistant
K. pneumoniae strain ST258 [
161], promoting the phagocytosis and cellular cytotoxicity of human neutrophils and mouse macrophages against
K. pneumoniae. Chimeric mAb 2C7 with a E430G Fc (2C7-E430G Fc) also demonstrated a similar mechanism of killing bacteria [
162]. Besides, mAb can also promote the killing of the opsonophagocytic through the binding of the Fc region with the receptor on the surface of phagocytes [
163,
164]. MRSA is a common cause of deadly blood infections. It produces coagulase (Coa) to activate the host of prothrombin fibrinogen [
165]. The R domain in the C terminal of Coa comprises 27 amino acid residues with conservative tandem repeat sequences, which binds fibrinogen onto the surface of MRSA to protect pathogens from phagocytosis by immune cells [
166,
167]. Thomer et al. immunized mice with full-length Coa expressed by
S. aureus as an antigen and obtained mAb 3B3 [
168]. It was demonstrated that the R domain of Coa bound onto 3B3, inhibiting Coa binding to fibrinogen and triggering phagocytosis of
Staphylococcus. Nielsen et al. extracted mAb C8 by inoculation of mice with a sublethal dose of highly toxic
A. baumannii strain [
169]. C8 targeted and bound to the carbohydrate of bacterial surface capsule to enhance opsonophagocytosis. After humanized, C8 significantly increases the phagocytosis of
A. baumannii. Finally, mAb neutralizes the activity of bacterial toxins by inhibiting the binding of bacterial exotoxin molecules with host cell targets or blocking their polymerization with other toxin subunits [
170–
172]. Many pathogenic bacteria cause diseases by releasing toxins, and the use of therapeutic antibodies that neutralize these toxins is an integral part of the treatment for infections. Anthrax toxin is a three-component protein exotoxin composed of a protective antigen and two enzymes (edema factor and lethal factor) segments [
173], working together to suppress the immune response and kill the host cells. Obiltoxaximab (Elusys Therapeutics) and Raxibacumab (AstraZeneca) are obtained via the phage display technique that can neutralize the protective antigen of
B. anthracis, inhibiting the lethal effect of anthrax toxin [
174,
175]. Interleukin A/B (LukAB) is a recently discovered toxin in
S. aureus infections, which kills human primary phagocytes and is the main factor for human monocyte death [
176]. Three monoclonal antibodies (SA-13, SA-15, and SA-17) were obtained from B cells of a 12-year-old patient with
S. aureus osteomyelitis via the hybridoma technique [
177] and were reported to possess a unique neutralization mechanism against the virulence factor LukABv of
S. aureus and demonstrated competent efficacy
in vivo. Table
3 shows antibodies against pathogenic bacteria in clinical research.