Beyond natural antibodies: the power of in vitro display technologies

• Published in: Nature biotechnology 2011-03, Vol.29 (3), p.245-254
• Main Authors: Bradbury, Andrew R M, Sidhu, Sachdev, Dübel, Stefan, McCafferty, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/1647/1511; 631/1647/664/2228; 631/61/24; Agriculture; Antibodies; Antibodies, Monoclonal - chemistry; Antibodies, Monoclonal - metabolism; Bioinformatics; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Biomedical research; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Biotechnology - trends; Drug Design; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health aspects; Immunization; Life Sciences; Monoclonal antibodies; Peptide Library; perspective; Physiological aspects; Viral antibodies; Yeasts
• ISSN: 1087-0156; 1546-1696; 1546-1696
• DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1791

In vitro display technologies, best exemplified by phage and yeast display, were first described for the selection of antibodies some 20 years ago. Since then, many antibodies have been selected and improved upon using these methods. Although it is not widely recognized, many of the antibodies derived using in vitro display methods have properties that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain by immunizing animals. The first antibodies derived using in vitro display methods are now in the clinic, with many more waiting in the wings. Unlike immunization, in vitro display permits the use of defined selection conditions and provides immediate availability of the sequence encoding the antibody. The amenability of in vitro display to high-throughput applications broadens the prospects for their wider use in basic and applied research.