Neutralization of the anthrax toxin by antibody-mediated stapling of its membrane-penetrating loop

Anti-bacterial monoclonal antibodies: next generation therapy against superbugs

Prior to the nineteenth century, infectious disease was one of the leading causes of death. Human life expectancy has roughly doubled over the past century as a result of the development of antibiotics and vaccines. However, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs brings new challenges. The side effects of broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as causing antimicrobial resistance and destroying the normal flora, often limit their applications. Furthermore, the development of new antibiotics has lagged far behind the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. On the other hand, the genome complexity of bacteria makes it difficult to create effective vaccines. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents in supplement to antibiotics and vaccines are urgently needed to improve the treatment of infections. In recent years, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have achieved remarkable clinical success in a variety of fields. In the treatment of infectious diseases, mAbs can play functions through multiple mechanisms, including toxins neutralization, virulence factors inhibition, complement-mediated killing activity, and opsonic phagocytosis. Toxins and bacterial surface components are good targets to generate antibodies against. The U.S. FDA has approved three monoclonal antibody drugs, and there are numerous candidates in the preclinical or clinical trial stages. This article reviews recent advances in the research and development of anti-bacterial monoclonal antibody drugs in order to provide a valuable reference for future studies in this area. KEY POINTS: • Novel drugs against antibiotic-resistant superbugs are urgently required • Monoclonal antibodies can treat bacterial infections through multiple mechanisms • There are many anti-bacterial monoclonal antibodies developed in recent years and some candidates have entered the preclinical or clinical stages of development.

Mapping, Structure and Modulation of PPI

Because of the key relevance of protein–protein interactions (PPI) in diseases, the modulation of protein-protein complexes is of relevant clinical significance. The successful design of binding compounds modulating PPI requires a detailed knowledge of the involved protein-protein system at molecular level, and investigation of the structural motifs that drive the association of the proteins at the recognition interface. These elements represent hot spots of the protein binding free energy, define the complex lifetime and possible modulation strategies. Here, we review the advanced technologies used to map the PPI involved in human diseases, to investigate the structure-function features of protein complexes, and to discover effective ligands that modulate the PPI for therapeutic intervention.