THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF INTRACELLULAR ANTIBODIES

Antibody engineering techniques permit the exploitation of the highly specific and diverse nature of the humoral immune system. Intracellula r antibodies, consisting minimally of the antigen-binding domains of t he patent immunoglobulin protein, may be used to manipulate microbial and cellular target molecules. Applications of this technology describ ed to date include inhibition of replication of an infectious virus, d ownregulation of growth factor receptors, and inactivation of oncoprot eins in cell culture systems. The ability to functionally manipulate v irtually any target molecule using intracellular antibodies is clearly beneficial to basic science and molecular medicine.