Antibody domains

A small amount of AP antibody reaches the brain, binds to A(3 peptides, promotes the disassembly of fibrils, and, via the Fc antibody domain, encourages activated microglia to enter the affected region and remove A(3 [86] and/or... 

Padlan, E.A. (1991). A possible procedure for reducing the immunogenicity of antibody domains while preserving their ligand-binding properties. Mol. Immunol., 28, 489-498. 

Fig. 9.1 (continued) antibody domain in the second overlap-extension PCR. This second PCR yields cloning-ready anti body domains with flanking restriction sites and combinatoriaUy shuffled CDRs. This scheme is for VH domains and identical scheme with the appropriate primer sets was used to prepare the light chain domains. RE 5 represents a restriction site for Ncol for VH domains or EcoRW for VL domains. RE 3 represents a restriction site for Blpl for VH domains or Notl for VL domains... 

In future, many antibody-derived molecules will be seen in many indications, in addition to single chain Fv fragments (scFv). Dimeric and tetrameric mini-antibodies, diabodies, single antibody domains, Fv fragments fused to toxins, cytokines, antibiotics or radionuclides, protein scaffolds with hypervariable antibody domains, and related molecules such as an-ticalines will emerge to complement the toolbox of affinity-based agents and enhance their therapeutic efficacy. 

Antibody phage technology directly yields antibody fragments (typically in scFv or Fab format). However, other antibody formats (e.g., IgG) can easily be obtained by transplanting the genes coding for the variable antibody domains into suitable expression vectors (Fig. 6.2). 

Vh. These single-domain antibodies are composed entirely of a single-variable antibody domain. Despite early excitement surrounding the functional activity of these, in those that have been studied, they rarely retained the affinity of the parent antibody and were poorly soluble and often prone to aggregation. Exposure of the hydrophobic surface of the Vh to the solvent, which normally interacts with the Vl, causes a sticky behavior of the isolated VhS [18]. Because of their small size, it is possible for Vh antibodies to potentially target some epitopes that are inaccessible to larger antibody fragments [10]. 

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