Immune imaging and therapy – In vivo visualization of presence of immune cells as predictive factor for immune modulating therapies, and exploitation of immune system as therapeutic strategy
In the last decade, immunotherapy has revolutionized the oncology field and has become the standard of care for some cancer types. However, variations in therapy responsiveness and side effects limit the broad applicability and effectiveness of these therapies and highlights the need for both improved immunotherapies and improved screening. We aim to improve immunotherapy responsiveness by developing nanobodies targeting immune cells and/or immune-related targets. We employ these nanobodies as diagnostic tracers to follow-up or predict immunotherapy responsiveness by imaging immune cell dynamics. Furthermore, we develop novel nanobody-based immunotherapeutics with the aim improve anti-cancer therapy.
Nanobody technology – Generation and preclinical validation of novel nanobody-compounds targeting complex cell membrane proteins
Transmembrane proteins, including various receptors, transporters, and channels, play a crucial role in several physiological processes and diseases. As a result, these types of proteins are among the most important targets for drugs. However, the biggest challenge lies in finding (small) molecules that bind to these proteins with high affinity, potency, and selectivity. Nanobodies, antibody fragments derived from camelids, are an ideal therapeutic tool for such proteins. Nanobodies are small, bind to proteins with high affinity and specificity, and can bind epitopes, such as receptor-ligand domains, that are often inaccessible to conventional proteins.
We aim to develop nanobodies against these complex transmembrane proteins for both research and therapeutic purposes. A special focus is placed on developing nanobodies targeting G-protein-coupled receptors. These nanobodies can be reformatted into various formats (multivalent nanobodies, Fc-fusion proteins) and can be used for fundamental research (studying signaling pathways, protein conformations, etc.), diagnostics and/or therapeutic applications (inhibiting receptor activity, targeted therapy).