Chair, Department of Clinical Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Presentation Description / Summary: Camelid heavy-chain antibodies were discovered over thirty years ago. Advances in biotechnology have facilitated generation of small immune molecules from them, including single-domain antibodies. Over the thirty years, these derivatives have gone from being a species-specific curiosity to a widely researched subject with potential applications in human health care. Explosion in immunotherapy in humans has further fueled interest. In spite of this, there has been relatively little work done on veterinary applications. This work will outline the properties of single domain antibodies, how they may be generated, and ways they may be used for veterinary diagnostic or therapeutic applications. It will also address potential problems, and how these may be addressed.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the structure and generation of single domain antibodies, and understand how they differ from canonical antibodies.
Understand how the unique attributes of single-domain antibodies can offer advantages or disadvantages as diagnostic or therapeutic agents.
Describe the process of identifying a target and generating a novel single-domain antibody against it as a possible therapeutic or diagnostic agent.
