A Competition-Based Strategy for the Isolation of an Anti-Idiotypic Blocking Module and Fine-Tuning for Conditional Activation of a Therapeutic Antibody.

The masking of therapeutic antibodies by the installation of a blocking module that can be removed under certain physiological conditions, is becoming increasingly important to improve their safety and toxicity profile. To gain access to such masking units, we used chicken immunization in combination with yeast surface display and a competition-based FACS screening campaign to obtain anti-idiotypic single-chain Fv (scFv) fragments. This approach promotes the identification of functional masking units, since specificity and high affinity do not necessarily guarantee a paratope blocking effect.

biobank.cy: the Biobank of Cyprus past, present and future.

The Cyprus Biobank collects biosamples, medical and lifestyle information with the aim of reaching 16,500 Cypriots aged ≥ 18-years, by year 2027, as part of a multitasked EU funded project. Volunteers are both from the general population and from disease cohorts of focused research projects, who amongst others will contribute to canvas the architecture of the Cyprus human genome and study the healthy and morbid anatomy of Cypriots. The Cyprus Biobank is a research infrastructure pillar of the biobank.

T cell receptor-directed antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of T cell-derived cancers.

T cell-derived cancers are hallmarked by heterogeneity, aggressiveness, and poor clinical outcomes. Available targeted therapies are severely limited due to a lack of target antigens that allow discrimination of malignant from healthy T cells. Here, we report a novel approach for the treatment of T cell diseases based on targeting the clonally rearranged T cell receptor displayed by the cancerous T cell population.

What public health challenges and unmet medical needs would benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration in the EU? A survey and multi-stakeholder debate.

In the past decade, significant European calls for research proposals have supported translational collaborative research on non-communicable and infectious diseases within the biomedical life sciences by bringing together interdisciplinary and multinational consortia. This research has advanced our understanding of disease pathophysiology, marking considerable scientific progress. Yet, it is crucial to retrospectively evaluate these efforts' societal impact.

A Conditionally Activated Cytosol-Penetrating Antibody for TME-Dependent Intracellular Cargo Delivery.

Currently, therapeutic and diagnostic applications of antibodies are primarily limited to cell surface-exposed and extracellular proteins. However, research has been conducted on cell-penetrating peptides (CPP), as well as cytosol-penetrating antibodies, to overcome these limitations. In this context, a heparin sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG)-binding antibody was serendipitously discovered, which eventually localizes to the cytosol of target cells.