Cited by 2,304Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies ResearchProtein purification and stabilityAnimal Diversity and Health Studies

Nanobodies: natural single-domain antibodies

Muyldermans, Serge·2013·Annual Review of Biochemistry

Abstract

Sera of camelids contain both conventional heterotetrameric antibodies and unique functional heavy (H)-chain antibodies (HCAbs). The H chain of these homodimeric antibodies consists of one antigen-binding domain, the VHH, and two constant domains. HCAbs fail to incorporate light (L) chains owing to the deletion of the first constant domain and a reshaped surface at the VHH side, which normally associates with L chains in conventional antibodies. The genetic elements composing HCAbs have been identified, but the in vivo generation of these antibodies from their dedicated genes into antigen-specific and affinity-matured bona fide antibodies remains largely underinvestigated. However, the facile identification of antigen-specific VHHs and their beneficial biochemical and economic properties (size, affinity, specificity, stability, production cost) supported by multiple crystal structures have encouraged antibody engineering of these single-domain antibodies for use as a research tool and in biotechnology and medicine.

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Crossref · 10.1146/annurev-biochem-063011-092449

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  • VHH and V-NAR domains contain more hydrophilic residues on the surface that interfaces with VL domains, and some hydrophobic residues analogous to those at the VH/VL interface are used for interacting with hydrophobic residues in the CDR3 loop.

    “Compared to the VH domains, the VHH and V-NAR domains contain more hydrophilic residues on the surface that interfaces with the VL domains, and some hydrophobic residues, that are fixed in the sequences, are analogous to those at the VH/VL interface and are used for interacting with hydrophobic residues in the CDR3 loop [11,12].”
  • Nanobody paratopes contain on average nearly three additional residues, and the paratope is drawn from a wider set of aligned sequence positions than classical antibody VH domain paratopes, comparable to the set used by the entire VH-VL paratope.

    “Perhaps more significant in terms of challenges to computational modelling tools is that nanobody paratopes contain on average nearly three additional residues, and moreover the paratope is drawn from a wider set of aligned sequence positions than classical antibody VH domain paratopes, comparable to the set used by the entire VH-VL paratope [230, 232].”
  • Nanobodies are naturally occurring H chain only antibodies in camelids and sharks.

    “One of the most promising is the H chain only antibody, or nanobody that are naturally occurring in camelids (llamas, alpacas and camels) [27] and sharks [228, 229] (reviewed by Muyldermans [230] and Bannas et al. [27]).”

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Authors
Muyldermans, S.
Affiliations
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)
Corresponding author
Muyldermans, Serge
Venue
Annual Review of Biochemistry
Published
2013-06-02
Volume
82
Issue
1
Pages
775-797
ISSN
  • 0066-4154 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-4509
OpenAlex
W2169610187
Cited by
2,304
References
150
Citations by year
2026: 225 · 2025: 226 · 2024: 252 · 2023: 216 · 2022: 245 · 2021: 235 · 2020: 202 · 2019: 161 · 2018: 138 · 2017: 120 · 2016: 105 · 2015: 88 · 2014: 78 · 2013: 13
FWCI
13.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Annual Review of Biochemistry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VUBIR (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein purification and stability
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Animal Diversity and Health Studies
Keywords
nanobodies, VHH, heavy-chain antibodies, camelid antibodies, antibody engineering, antigen-binding domain, affinity maturation, antibody stability
MeSH terms
Animals, Antibodies, Antibody Affinity, Biotechnology, Camelids, New World, Camelus, Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains, Single-Domain Antibodies

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