The art of blocking ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs): nanobodies as experimental and therapeutic tools to block mammalian and toxin ARTs.

In 1901, the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Emil von Behring for his ground-breaking discovery of serum therapy: serum from horses vaccinated with toxin-containing culture medium of Corynebacterium diphtheriae contained life-saving 'antitoxins'. The molecular nature of the ADP-ribosylating toxin and the neutralizing antibodies were unraveled only 50 years later. Today, von Behring's antibody therapy is being refined with a new generation of recombinant antibodies and antibody fragments. Nanobodies, which are single-domain antibodies derived from the peculiar heavy-chain antibodies of llamas and other camelids, are emerging as a promising new class of highly specific enzyme inhibitors. In this review, we illustrate the potential of nanobodies as tools to block extracellular and intracellular ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs), using the toxin-related membrane-bound mammalian ecto-enzyme ARTC2 and the actin-ADP-ribosylating Salmonella virulence plasmid factor B toxin of Salmonella enterica as examples.

Single domain antibodies: promising experimental and therapeutic tools in infection and immunity.

Antibodies are important tools for experimental research and medical applications. Most antibodies are composed of two heavy and two light chains. Both chains contribute to the antigen-binding site which is usually flat or concave. In addition to these conventional antibodies, llamas, other camelids, and sharks also produce antibodies composed only of heavy chains. The antigen-binding site of these unusual heavy chain antibodies (hcAbs) is formed only by a single domain, designated VHH in camelid hcAbs and VNAR in shark hcAbs. VHH and VNAR are easily produced as recombinant proteins, designated single domain antibodies (sdAbs) or nanobodies. The CDR3 region of these sdAbs possesses the extraordinary capacity to form long fingerlike extensions that can extend into cavities on antigens, e.g., the active site crevice of enzymes. Other advantageous features of nanobodies include their small size, high solubility, thermal stability, refolding capacity, and good tissue penetration in vivo. Here we review the results of several recent proof-of-principle studies that open the exciting perspective of using sdAbs for modulating immune functions and for targeting toxins and microbes.