Abstract

Antibody Engineering and Diagnostic Imaging at the Forefront of Targeted Therapies

Nick Devoogdt, Professor, Free University Brussels (VUB)

Nanobodies are small (10-15kD) antigen-binding proteins derived from the variable heavy-chain domain (VHH) of unique single-chain antibodies that are naturally present in camelidae. Due to their beneficial biochemical and pharmacokinetic properties, nanobodies are ideally suited as tracers for noninvasive molecular imaging. They have high affinities and specificities for their target antigen, are easy to generate and can be recombinantly produced in high amounts. Nanobodies invade dense cellular structures and are quickly removed from the circulation via renal clearance, are highly soluble and stable, can be chemically modified and linked with a range of fluorescent dyes, radionuclides and particles; Hence, nanobody-derived tracers can generate high contrast images fast after injection, in contrast to most other antibody-based tracers. I will present our experience with nanobodies as tracers for multimodal imaging of biomarker expression on a variety of pathological cells, and their usefulness as preclinical and clinical research tool, companion diagnostic and vehicle for targeted therapies.