790393 Antibodies and beyond - emerging fields in antibody engineering

Type
Lecture and seminar
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Wick, Cecilia , Wozniak-Knopp, Gordana
Organisation
Biotechnology and Food Science
Offered in
Sommersemester 2025
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

The following topics will be covered:

Unit 1

Antibodies, Structures, Domains
Immunoglobulin fold
Mechanism of action, binding Inactivation, Effector functions
Diagnostics
Examples of successful antibodies

Unit 2

How to identify new antibodies
Antibody structures,Classes Variable and constant domains, Hypervariable regions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGsyBwDVnTU

Hybridoma, Mouse antibodies
Humanisation of antibodies
Humanized mouse models

Unit 3

Antibody fragments: Fab, scFv
Designing and making libraries
Randomized oligos
Parsimonious mutagenesis
Error prone PCR
Library size
Phage Display

Unit 4

Yeast Display
Ribosome Display

Unit 5

How to improve existing antibodies and antibody fragments
Affinity maturations, Characterisation of binders, Affinity, Kinetics
Stabilisation of antibodies
Engineering of in vivo half-life and effector functions

Unit 6

How to characterize antibodies
In vitro assays, Receptor binding, Cell binding, biological tests with cells (ADCC, CDC, influence on expression of affected genes, ß-Complementation)
In vivo assays, tumor models, rheumatoid arthritis, Immunooncology
Engineered T cell receptors

Unit 7

Alternative antibody formats and bispecific antibodies
scFv fusion proteins
Alternative scaffolds
ADCs

Unit 8

Modular antibodies
Exam
Previous knowledge expected

The following lectures are highly recommended:

941105 Introduction to Molecular Biology
791368 Biological Therapeutics
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

This course gives an overview on modern methods in antibody engineering, and enables students to understand and choose methods in a problem oriented manner.

Students who have taken this course will have knowledge about the basic principles of antibody engineering and antibody design. They know which types of antibodies and antibody fragments are of practical importance today and which features of these molecules can be engineered. They are familiar with the basics of library design and surface display methods, in particular with phage display and yeast display.

Students know which methods can be applied for the biochemical and biophysical characterization of engineered antibodies, and they have an overview of in vitro and in vivo methods for the characterization of the biological properties of antibodies.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.