In contrast to other species, cattle possess exceptional antibodies with ultra-long complementarity-determining regions (ulCDRs) that can consist of 40-70 amino acids. The bovine ulCDR is folded into a stalk and a disulfide-rich knob domain. The binding to the antigen is via the 3-6 kDa knob. There exists an immense sequence and structural diversity in the knob that enables binding to different antigens. Here we summarize the current knowledge of the ulCDR structure and provide an overview of the approaches to discover ulCDRs against novel antigens. Furthermore, we outline protein engineering approaches inspired by the natural ulCDRs. Finally, we discuss the enormous potential of using isolated bovine knobs, also named picobodies, as the smallest antigen-binding domains derived from natural antibodies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108120 | DOI Listing |
Comput Biol Chem
January 2025
Virology and Vaccine Research and Development Program, Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute, Taguig City, Metro Manila 1631, Philippines; S&T Fellows Program, Department of Science and Technology, Taguig City, Metro Manila 1631, Philippines; Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines - Manila, Metro Manila 1000, Philippines. Electronic address:
Nipah virus (NiV) is a re-emerging zoonotic pathogen with a high mortality rate and no effective treatments, prompting the search for new antiviral strategies. While conventional antiviral drugs are often limited by issues such as poor specificity, off-target effects, and resistance development, nanobodies offer distinct advantages. These small, single-domain antibodies exhibit high specificity and stability, making them ideal candidates for antiviral therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSLAS Discov
January 2025
Biologics Engineering, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address:
Neurotrophic factor 3 (NTF3) is a cysteine knot protein and a member of the nerve growth factor (NGF) family of cytokines. NTF3 engages the Trk family of receptor tyrosine kinases, playing a pivotal role in the development and function of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Its involvement in neuronal survival, differentiation, and growth links NTF3 to a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Reprod Immunol
January 2025
Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Objectives: Given the ongoing challenges regarding the specific roles of viral infections in cancer etiology, or as cancer co-morbidities, this study assessed potential associations between anti-viral, T-cell receptor (TCR) complementarity domain region-3 (CDR3s), and clinical outcomes for ovarian cancer.
Methods: TCR CDR3s were isolated from ovarian cancer specimens for a determination of which patients had anti-viral CDR3s and whether those patients had better or worse outcomes.
Results: Analyses revealed that patients with exact matches of anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) CDR3 amino acid sequences exhibited better outcomes for both overall and disease-specific survival.
Mol Biotechnol
January 2025
Innoplexus Consulting Services Pvt Ltd, Floor 7Th, Midas Tower, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Hinjawadi, Pune, Maharashtra, 411057, India.
Antibodies have specific binding capabilities and therapeutic potential for treating various diseases, including viral infections. The amino acid composition of the hypervariable complementarity determining regions (CDR) loops and the framework regions (FR) are the determining factors for the affinity and therapeutic efficacy of the antibodies. In this study selected and curated, 77 viral antigen-human antibody complexes from Protein data bank from the Thera-SAbdab database were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
December 2024
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA.
Although antibody derivatives, such as Fabs and scFvs, have revolutionized the cellular imaging, quantification and tracking of proteins, analogous tools and strategies are unavailable for cellular RNA visualization. Here, we developed four synthetic anti-RNA scFv (sarabody) probes and their green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions and demonstrated their potential to visualize RNA in live mammalian cells. We expressed these sarabodies and sarabody-GFP modules, purified them as soluble proteins, characterized their binding interactions with their corresponding epitopes and finally employed two of the four modules, sara1-GFP and sara1c-GFP, to visualize a target messenger RNA in live U2OS cells.
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