Accelerating antibody discovery using transgenic animals overexpressing the neonatal Fc receptor as a result of augmented humoral immunity.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for the development of faster and more efficient technologies for the generation of monoclonal antibodies against challenging targets that are weakly immunogenic or available only in limited amounts. Typical classes of such targets are cell surface antigens such as G-protein related receptors (GPCRs) or ion channels. We have developed transgenic (Tg) mice and rabbits that overexpress the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), resulting in an augmented humoral immune response even if challenging antigens are used for immunization.

In vitro metabolic and mitogenic signaling of insulin glargine and its metabolites.

Background: Insulin glargine (Lantus) is a long-acting basal insulin analog that demonstrates effective day-long glycemic control and a lower incidence of hypoglycemia than NPH insulin. After subcutaneous injection insulin glargine is partly converted into the two main metabolites M1 ([Gly(A21)]insulin) and M2 ([Gly(A21),des-Thr(B30)]insulin). The aim of this study was to characterize the glargine metabolites in vitro with regard to their insulin receptor (IR) and IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R) binding and signaling properties as well as their metabolic and mitogenic activities.