[Heavy-chain antibodies of the Camelidae and their possible applications]

Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online). 2005 May 16:59:193-202.
[Article in Polish]

Abstract

The immunoglobulins of the Camelidae family belonging to subclasses IgG2 and IgG3 consist of heavy chains only. The lack of light chains is caused by a point mutation in the heavy-chain gene, resulting in the loss of the splice consensus signal and the removal of the entire CH1 domain together with introns. The heavy-chains antibodies also contain longer hinge regions and conservative amino-acid substitutions in the framework regions. Despite the lack of light chains, the heavy-chain antibodies reveal normal antigen binding ability and effector functions. The heavy-chain antibodies are relatively easy to clone and possess good stability, high specificity, low molecular weight, and the ability to recognize unique epitopes. Possible areas of application of heavy-chain antibodies include their use as in vivo imaging reagents and sources of peptide-based drugs.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Camelids, New World / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / chemistry
  • Immunoglobulin G / genetics
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptide Library
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Peptide Library