Non-immunoglobulin scaffolds: a focus on their targets

Trends Biotechnol. 2015 Jul;33(7):408-18. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2015.03.012. Epub 2015 Apr 27.

Abstract

Non-immunoglobulin (non-Ig) scaffolds are, in contrast to antibodies, small single-domain proteins that require no post-translational modification, often lack disulfide bonds, and can undergo straightforward multimerization. Among the 20 different types of non-Ig scaffolds, Adhirons, Alphabodies, Centyrins, Pronectins, Repebodies, Affimers, and Obodies have been introduced in the past 4 years. 102 proteins have been specifically targeted by 139 different non-Ig scaffold binders. The most frequent application of non-Ig scaffolds is in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer and inflammatory diseases, and 10 non-Ig scaffolds have already been tested in clinical trials. Recently, non-Ig scaffolds have often been used in research as structure determination chaperones, for intracellular monitoring of post-translational modifications, and as antibody alternatives for microscopy, flow cytometry, and Western blotting.

Keywords: antibody alternatives; binders; non-immunoglobulin scaffolds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Humans
  • Recombinant Proteins*
  • Single-Domain Antibodies*

Substances

  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Single-Domain Antibodies