Antibody Therapy: From Diphtheria to Cancer, COVID-19, and Beyond.

The dawn of the 20th century saw the formative years of developments in immunology. In particular, immunochemistry, specifically pertaining to antibodies, was extensively studied. These studies laid the foundations for employing antibodies in a variety of ways. Not surprisingly, antibodies have been used for applications ranging from biomedical research to disease diagnostics and therapeutics to evaluation of immune responses during natural infection and those elicited by vaccines. Despite recent advancements in cellular immunology and the excitement of T cell therapy, use of antibodies represents a large proportion of immunotherapeutic approaches as well as clinical interventions. Polyclonal antibodies in the form of plasma or sera continue to be used to treat a number of diseases, including autoimmune disorders, cancers, and infectious diseases. Historically, antisera to toxins have been the longest serving biotherapeutics. In addition, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) have been extensively used to treat not only immunodeficiency conditions but also autoimmune disorders. Beyond the simplistic suppositions of their action, the IVIg have also unraveled the immune regulatory and homeostatic ramifications of their use. The advent of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), on the other hand, has provided a clear pathway for their development as drug molecules. MAbs have found a clear place in the treatment of cancers and extending lives and have been used in a variety of other conditions. In this review, we capture the important developments in the therapeutic applications of antibodies to alleviate disease, with a focus on some of the recent developments.

Immunogenicity of a Candidate Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Vaccine in Mice Based on Controlled In Vitro Expression of Ebolavirus Glycoprotein.

Ebolavirus (EBOV) is the etiology of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF). A major EHF outbreak in 2014-2015 in West Africa claimed >11,000 lives. A licensed vaccine is not available for EHF, although several vaccines have undergone clinical trials. We developed a human adenovirus (Ad) serotype 5-based candidate EHF vaccine based on controlled expression of the EBOV (Makona strain) glycoprotein (GP) as the immunogen. Two clones, AdGP72 and AdGP75, and a control Ad515 vector, were generated and tested for protein expression in vitro and immunogenicity in mice. Eight groups of mice were immunized with three doses of buffer, Ad515, AdGP72, and AdGP75, by two different dose regimens. Three different antigens (AdGP75-infected Vero E6 cell extract and two baculovirus expressed EBOV GP antigens, namely, GP alone or GP with EBOV VP40) were used to evaluate the immune response. Expression studies indicated that full-length GP was cleaved into its component subunits when expressed in mammalian cells through the Ad vectors. Moreover, in coimmunoprecipitation studies, EBOV GP was found to be associated with VP40 when expressed in baculoviruses. The candidate vaccines were immunogenic in mice, as evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using mammalian- or baculovirus-derived antigens. Further characterization and development of the candidate vaccines are warranted.