Title:Recombinant Antibody Fragments for Neurological Disorders: An Update
Volume: 22
Issue: 13
Author(s): Karen Manoutcharian and Goar Gevorkian*
Affiliation:
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), CDMX, Mexico
Keywords:
Nanobody, intrabody, antibody fragment, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, immunotherapy.
Abstract: Recombinant antibody fragments are promising alternatives to full-length immunoglobulins,
creating big opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry. Nowadays, antibody fragments such as
antigen-binding fragments (Fab), single-chain fragment variable (scFv), single-domain antibodies
(sdAbs), and bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are being evaluated as diagnostics or therapeutics in preclinical
models and in clinical trials. Immunotherapy approaches, including passive transfer of protective
antibodies, have shown therapeutic efficacy in several animal models of Alzheimer’s disease
(AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Huntington’s disease (HD), transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and multiple sclerosis (MS). There are various antibodies
approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating multiple sclerosis and two amyloid
beta-specific humanized antibodies, Aducanumab and Lecanemab, for AD. Our previous review
summarized data on recombinant antibodies evaluated in pre-clinical models for immunotherapy of
neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we explore recent studies in this fascinating research field, give an
update on new preventive and therapeutic applications of recombinant antibody fragments for neurological
disorders and discuss the potential of antibody fragments for developing novel approaches for
crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and targeting cells and molecules of interest in the brain.