Selecting Nanobodies Specific for the Epidermal Growth Factor from a Synthetic Nanobody Library.

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) is one of the most critical ligands of the EGF receptor (EGFR), a well-known oncogene frequently overexpressed in cancerous cells and an important therapeutic target in cancer. The EGF is the target of a therapeutic vaccine aimed at inducing an anti-EGF antibody response to sequester this molecule from serum. However, strikingly, very few investigations have focused on EGF immunotargeting.

Design and Construction of a Synthetic Nanobody Library: Testing Its Potential with a Single Selection Round Strategy.

Nanobodies (Nbs) are single domain antibody fragments derived from heavy-chain antibodies found in members of the Camelidae family. They have become a relevant class of biomolecules for many different applications because of several important advantages such as their small size, high solubility and stability, and low production costs. On the other hand, synthetic Nb libraries are emerging as an attractive alternative to animal immunization for the selection of antigen-specific Nbs.