It is well established that all camelids have unique antibodies circulating in their blood. Unlik... more It is well established that all camelids have unique antibodies circulating in their blood. Unlike antibodies from all other species, these special antibodies are devoid of light chains, and are composed of a heavy chain homodimer. These so-called heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs) are expressed after a V-D-J rearrangement and require dedicated constant gamma genes. An immune response is raised in these HCAbs following a classical immunization protocol. These HCAbs are easily purified from serum, and their antigen-binding fragment interacts with parts of the target that are less antigenic to conventional antibodies. The antigen binding site of the dromedary HCAb comprises one single domain, referred to as VHH or nanobody (Nb), therefore, a strategy was designed to clone the Nb repertoire of an immunized dromedary and to select the Nb with specificity for our target antigens. The monoclonal Nb is produced well in bacteria, is very stable and highly soluble, and it binds the antigen with high affinity and specificity. Currently, the recombinant Nb has been developed successfully for research purposes, as a probe in biosensors, to diagnose infections, or to treat diseases such as cancer or trypanosomiasis.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Proteins and Proteomics, 2014
Antibodies have evolved to function in oxidative, extracellular environments. A pair of cysteines... more Antibodies have evolved to function in oxidative, extracellular environments. A pair of cysteines in close proximity will oxidatively react to form a disulfide bond that fixes and stabilizes the tertiary structure of a protein. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) includes several disulfide bonds, and the patterns of inter-chain disulfide bonds characterize different IgG sub-classes. Moreover, the Ig-fold domains are characterized by a buried intra-domain disulfide bond, which is important for its structural stability. However, the intra-domain disulfide bond can be replaced without crucial effects on the structure and function, if the domain structure is intrinsically stable or has been stabilized by protein engineering. In previous studies, disulfide bonds were removed by amino-acid substitution indicating that Val and/or Ala (i.e. Ala-Ala, Ala-Val, Val-Ala, and Val-Ala) pairs were preferred for cysteine replacement in the Ig-fold domain. As such, these mutations may be useful for the intracellular use of antibodies. Recently, additional intra-domain disulfide bonds have been shown to stabilize Ig-fold domains and whole IgGs. In heavy chain variable or light chain variable domains, the introduction of additional disulfide bonds into the framework region did not reduce antigen-binding affinity, suggesting that generating disulfide bonds may be a method for stabilizing IgG and antibody fragments, such as the antigen-binding fragment, and single-chain and single-domain antibodies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in molecular engineering of antibody.
The successful medical application of single domain antibodies largely depends on their functiona... more The successful medical application of single domain antibodies largely depends on their functionality. This feature is partly determined by the intrinsic stability of the single domain. Therefore a lot of research has gone into the elucidation of rules to uniformly increase stability of antibodies. Recently, a novel intra-domain disulfide bond was independently discovered by two research groups, after either rational design or careful investigation of the naturally occurring camelid antibody repertoire. By introducing this particular disulfide bond within a single domain antibody, the conformational stability can be increased in general. In this chapter it is described how to introduce this extra intra-domain disulfide bond and how to estimate the biophysical and biochemical impact of this cystine on the domain.
Many efforts aim at solving the serious problems encountered with immunotherapy against scorpion ... more Many efforts aim at solving the serious problems encountered with immunotherapy against scorpion envenoming. The most attractive approach consists in generating single-chain antibody fragments (scFv) as their pharmaco-kinetic properties should match closely those of the scorpion toxins. Although high affinity scFv reagents have been generated in the past, their production level, stability, and toxin neutralizing capacity remain disappointingly poor. In the current study, we identified one Nanobody (Nb), a single-domain antigen-binding fragment of a dromedary Heavy-chain antibody (HCAb) that recognizes specifically the Androctonus australis hector AahI′ toxin. This Nb has excellent production, stability and solubility characteristics. With this Nb we further manufactured a tandem linked bivalent construct and assembled a HCAb with improved antigen binding due to avidity effects. All these constructs were shown in mouse models to possess a scorpion toxin neutralization capacity that exceeds by far all previous attempts with scFv-based materials, even when used at lower doses. It is therefore clear that in the near future Nanobodies will be at the core of novel serotherapeutics as they combine multiple benefits over other reagents to treat scorpion envenomed patients.
It is well established that all camelids have unique antibodies circulating in their blood. Unlik... more It is well established that all camelids have unique antibodies circulating in their blood. Unlike antibodies from all other species, these special antibodies are devoid of light chains, and are composed of a heavy chain homodimer. These so-called heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs) are expressed after a V-D-J rearrangement and require dedicated constant gamma genes. An immune response is raised in these HCAbs following a classical immunization protocol. These HCAbs are easily purified from serum, and their antigen-binding fragment interacts with parts of the target that are less antigenic to conventional antibodies. The antigen binding site of the dromedary HCAb comprises one single domain, referred to as VHH or nanobody (Nb), therefore, a strategy was designed to clone the Nb repertoire of an immunized dromedary and to select the Nb with specificity for our target antigens. The monoclonal Nb is produced well in bacteria, is very stable and highly soluble, and it binds the antigen with high affinity and specificity. Currently, the recombinant Nb has been developed successfully for research purposes, as a probe in biosensors, to diagnose infections, or to treat diseases such as cancer or trypanosomiasis.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Proteins and Proteomics, 2014
Antibodies have evolved to function in oxidative, extracellular environments. A pair of cysteines... more Antibodies have evolved to function in oxidative, extracellular environments. A pair of cysteines in close proximity will oxidatively react to form a disulfide bond that fixes and stabilizes the tertiary structure of a protein. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) includes several disulfide bonds, and the patterns of inter-chain disulfide bonds characterize different IgG sub-classes. Moreover, the Ig-fold domains are characterized by a buried intra-domain disulfide bond, which is important for its structural stability. However, the intra-domain disulfide bond can be replaced without crucial effects on the structure and function, if the domain structure is intrinsically stable or has been stabilized by protein engineering. In previous studies, disulfide bonds were removed by amino-acid substitution indicating that Val and/or Ala (i.e. Ala-Ala, Ala-Val, Val-Ala, and Val-Ala) pairs were preferred for cysteine replacement in the Ig-fold domain. As such, these mutations may be useful for the intracellular use of antibodies. Recently, additional intra-domain disulfide bonds have been shown to stabilize Ig-fold domains and whole IgGs. In heavy chain variable or light chain variable domains, the introduction of additional disulfide bonds into the framework region did not reduce antigen-binding affinity, suggesting that generating disulfide bonds may be a method for stabilizing IgG and antibody fragments, such as the antigen-binding fragment, and single-chain and single-domain antibodies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in molecular engineering of antibody.
The successful medical application of single domain antibodies largely depends on their functiona... more The successful medical application of single domain antibodies largely depends on their functionality. This feature is partly determined by the intrinsic stability of the single domain. Therefore a lot of research has gone into the elucidation of rules to uniformly increase stability of antibodies. Recently, a novel intra-domain disulfide bond was independently discovered by two research groups, after either rational design or careful investigation of the naturally occurring camelid antibody repertoire. By introducing this particular disulfide bond within a single domain antibody, the conformational stability can be increased in general. In this chapter it is described how to introduce this extra intra-domain disulfide bond and how to estimate the biophysical and biochemical impact of this cystine on the domain.
Many efforts aim at solving the serious problems encountered with immunotherapy against scorpion ... more Many efforts aim at solving the serious problems encountered with immunotherapy against scorpion envenoming. The most attractive approach consists in generating single-chain antibody fragments (scFv) as their pharmaco-kinetic properties should match closely those of the scorpion toxins. Although high affinity scFv reagents have been generated in the past, their production level, stability, and toxin neutralizing capacity remain disappointingly poor. In the current study, we identified one Nanobody (Nb), a single-domain antigen-binding fragment of a dromedary Heavy-chain antibody (HCAb) that recognizes specifically the Androctonus australis hector AahI′ toxin. This Nb has excellent production, stability and solubility characteristics. With this Nb we further manufactured a tandem linked bivalent construct and assembled a HCAb with improved antigen binding due to avidity effects. All these constructs were shown in mouse models to possess a scorpion toxin neutralization capacity that exceeds by far all previous attempts with scFv-based materials, even when used at lower doses. It is therefore clear that in the near future Nanobodies will be at the core of novel serotherapeutics as they combine multiple benefits over other reagents to treat scorpion envenomed patients.
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