Intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) for gene therapy of infectious diseases.
Intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) represent a new class of neutralizing molecules with a potential use in gene therapy. Intrabodies are engineered single-chain antibodies in which the variable domain of the heavy chain is joined to the variable domain of the light chain through a peptide linker, preserving the affinity of the parent antibody. Intrabodies are expressed inside cells and directed to different subcellular compartments where they can exert their function more effectively. The effects of intrabodies have been investigated using structural, regulatory, and enzymatic proteins of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) as targets. These intrabodies have demonstrated their versatility by controlling early as well as late events of the viral life cycle. In this article, we review studies of the use of intrabodies as research tools and therapeutic agents against HIV-1.
Rondon
I J
IJ
Division of Human Retrovirology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. isaac_rondon@dfci.harvard.edu
Marasco
W A
WA
D000917:Antibody Formation; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D015694:Gene Products, rev / Q000276:immunology; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000276:immunology; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160 / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D019427:HIV Integrase / Q000276:immunology; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D054321:rev Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D015694:Gene Products, rev; D015696:Gene Products, tat; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D054321:rev Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D019427:HIV Integrase; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase