Roovers Rob C, van Dongen Guus A M S, van Bergen en Henegouwen Paul M P
Utrecht University, Science Faculty, Department of Cellular Architecture and Dynamics, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Curr Opin Mol Ther. 2007 Aug;9(4):327-35.
Over the years, many antibodies have been successfully generated to treat patients with life-threatening diseases, most notably cancer. While the first generation of antibodies, originating from mice, caused severe side effects and were relatively inefficient, technological advances have made it possible to obtain fully human antibodies for therapeutic use. 'Heavy-chain only' antibodies have recently been discovered in the blood of camelids. Because of their size, the antigen-binding units of these antibodies comprising only a single Ig fold are called Nanobodies. These antibody fragments have several remarkable features that make them ideal candidates as next-generation cancer therapeutics. Particularly appealing is their ability to simultaneously inhibit various crucial growth factor receptors or their ligands with a single molecule. In addition, they are easy to clone and express on the tip of filamentous phage, which opens the possibility to select for Nanobodies inducing particular biological effects. Nanobodies have potential to become important cancer therapeutics in the near future, displaying unequalled and unprecedented efficacies in treatment.
多年来，人们已成功制备出许多抗体用于治疗危及生命的疾病，尤其是癌症。第一代源自小鼠的抗体曾引发严重副作用且效率相对较低，但技术进步已使获得用于治疗的全人源抗体成为可能。最近在骆驼科动物血液中发现了“仅重链”抗体。由于其大小，这些仅包含单个免疫球蛋白折叠的抗体的抗原结合单元被称为纳米抗体。这些抗体片段具有几个显著特征，使其成为下一代癌症治疗药物的理想候选者。特别吸引人的是它们能够用单个分子同时抑制各种关键生长因子受体或其配体。此外，它们易于克隆并在丝状噬菌体尖端表达，这为筛选能诱导特定生物学效应的纳米抗体开辟了可能性。纳米抗体在不久的将来有可能成为重要的癌症治疗药物，在治疗中展现出无与伦比和前所未有的疗效。
