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ARTICLE | Translation in Brief

Tethered hope

Targeting viral receptors with membrane-spanning antibodies

May 4, 2017 8:37 PM UTC

A Scripps team has developed a method for identifying antiviral, membrane-tethered antibodies that block virus-host receptor interactions without disrupting normal receptor functions, a strategy that could both reduce the ability of the virus to develop resistance and minimize toxicities in the patient. While the approach could apply to virtually any viral infection, researchers from Scripps and spinout Zebra Biologics Inc. intend to develop antibodies targeting CD4 -- the primary receptor by which HIV infects T cells.

The team, led by Richard Lerner, showed proof-of-concept for the method in a study published last month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by identifying a membrane-tethered antibody against intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1; CD54), the host receptor for rhinovirus. Lerner is professor of immunochemistry at The Scripps Research Institute and co-founder of Zebra...

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