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Nanobodies: From Serendipitous Discovery of Heavy Chain-Only Antibodies in Camelids to a Wide Range of Useful Applications

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Single-Domain Antibodies

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2446))

Abstract

The presence of unique heavy chain-only antibodies (HCAbs) in camelids was discovered at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB, Brussels, Belgium) at a time when many researchers were exploring the cloning and expression of smaller antigen-binding fragments (Fv and Fab) from hybridoma-derived antibodies. The potential importance of this discovery was anticipated, and efforts were immediately undertaken to understand the emergence and ontogeny of these HCAbs as well as to investigate the applications of the single-domain antigen-binding variable domains of HCAbs (nanobodies). Nanobodies were demonstrated to possess multiple biochemical and biophysical advantages over other antigen-binding antibody fragments and alternative scaffolds. Today, nanobodies have a significant and growing impact on research, biotechnology, and medicine.

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Acknowledgments

The work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U20A20263), the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC1103002), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (DUT20LAB121, DUT20YG107, DUT21ZD207, and DUT21LK10).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liaoning Key Laboratory of Molecular Recognition and Imaging, School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning, China

    Fangling Ji, Jun Ren, Lingyun Jia & Serge Muyldermans

  2. Cellular and Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Cécile Vincke & Serge Muyldermans

  3. Myeloid Cell Immunology Laboratory, VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Brussels, Belgium

    Cécile Vincke

Authors
  1. Fangling Ji
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  2. Jun Ren
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  3. Cécile Vincke
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  4. Lingyun Jia
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  5. Serge Muyldermans
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Serge Muyldermans .

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  1. Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Greg Hussack

  2. Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Kevin A. Henry

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Ji, F., Ren, J., Vincke, C., Jia, L., Muyldermans, S. (2022). Nanobodies: From Serendipitous Discovery of Heavy Chain-Only Antibodies in Camelids to a Wide Range of Useful Applications. In: Hussack, G., Henry, K.A. (eds) Single-Domain Antibodies. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2446. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2075-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2075-5_1

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