The discovery of nanobodies or single domain antibodies has opened new avenues for the next generation of cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. Nanobodies are the small antigen-binding fragments of the heavy chain antibodies produced by llamas and camels. Unlike classic antibodies, camelid antibodies are devoid of light chains and composed of two identical heavy chains. Nanobodies have several promising advantages compared to monoclonal antibodies, such as small size, increased tissue permeability, quick clearance from blood, high affinity and specificity to the target antigen, and easy reformatting into recombinant fusion proteins. Regarding their exceptional properties, nanobodies have become a powerful tool in developing novel targeted anti-tumor agents including immunotherapeutics and immunodiagnostics.
Cancer immunotherapy approaches have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of a variety of malignancies. However, the efficacy of these therapies is hindered by their poor accessibility to cancer cells due to the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Owing to their small size, the ability to penetrate the dense tissue of solid tumors and bind to hidden epitopes, nanobodies and their derivatives may address some challenges facing cancer immunotherapy. Moreover, conjugation of nanobodies to some functional groups such as cytotoxic drugs, enzymes and toxins can enhance their anticancer potency. The use of nanobodies as the antigen-binding moiety of CAR T cells has shown encouraging outcomes in hematological and solid tumors. Nanobodies have also been explored for non-invasive imaging of cancer cells because of their nanoscale dimensions, easy penetration into tumor tissues, and quick clearance from the body.
Because nanobodies fulfill the requirements of an excellent targeting agent, it is anticipated that they will lead to numerous novels and effective candidates for cancer treatment and diagnosis in the future.
In this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles that focus, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:
• Development and characterization of novel nanobodies targeting different tumor antigens
• Generation of nanobody-based CAR T cells for cancer therapy
• Production of multivalent or multi-specific antitumor nanobodies
• Development of novel nanobody conjugates (peptide fusions, immunotoxins, ADCs, immunocytokines) for cancer therapy.
• Design and preparation of nanobody-targeted drug delivery systems for cancer therapy
• Development of nanobody-based imaging tools for cancer diagnostics
Note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic and are out of scope for this section.
The discovery of nanobodies or single domain antibodies has opened new avenues for the next generation of cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. Nanobodies are the small antigen-binding fragments of the heavy chain antibodies produced by llamas and camels. Unlike classic antibodies, camelid antibodies are devoid of light chains and composed of two identical heavy chains. Nanobodies have several promising advantages compared to monoclonal antibodies, such as small size, increased tissue permeability, quick clearance from blood, high affinity and specificity to the target antigen, and easy reformatting into recombinant fusion proteins. Regarding their exceptional properties, nanobodies have become a powerful tool in developing novel targeted anti-tumor agents including immunotherapeutics and immunodiagnostics.
Cancer immunotherapy approaches have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of a variety of malignancies. However, the efficacy of these therapies is hindered by their poor accessibility to cancer cells due to the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Owing to their small size, the ability to penetrate the dense tissue of solid tumors and bind to hidden epitopes, nanobodies and their derivatives may address some challenges facing cancer immunotherapy. Moreover, conjugation of nanobodies to some functional groups such as cytotoxic drugs, enzymes and toxins can enhance their anticancer potency. The use of nanobodies as the antigen-binding moiety of CAR T cells has shown encouraging outcomes in hematological and solid tumors. Nanobodies have also been explored for non-invasive imaging of cancer cells because of their nanoscale dimensions, easy penetration into tumor tissues, and quick clearance from the body.
Because nanobodies fulfill the requirements of an excellent targeting agent, it is anticipated that they will lead to numerous novels and effective candidates for cancer treatment and diagnosis in the future.
In this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles that focus, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:
• Development and characterization of novel nanobodies targeting different tumor antigens
• Generation of nanobody-based CAR T cells for cancer therapy
• Production of multivalent or multi-specific antitumor nanobodies
• Development of novel nanobody conjugates (peptide fusions, immunotoxins, ADCs, immunocytokines) for cancer therapy.
• Design and preparation of nanobody-targeted drug delivery systems for cancer therapy
• Development of nanobody-based imaging tools for cancer diagnostics
Note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic and are out of scope for this section.