Jornal de Técnicas Imunológicas e Doenças Infecciosas

State of the Art on Plant-Made Single-Domain Antibodies

Patricia Marconi and Maria A Alvarez

State of the Art on Plant-Made Single-Domain Antibodies

In addition to conventional antibodies (with heavy and light chains), camelids also produce functional antibodies devoid of light chains (HCAbs) without the first constant domain (CH1). Their variable domains (VHH) have binding properties, high stability and solubility, and are considered the smallest available intact antigen–binding fragment derived from a functional immunoglobulin. For their practical utilities VHHs have been expressed in different platforms. This review aims to provide an update in the field of plant-made VHHs, their applications and limitations, and a discussion about the challenges for the near future in this field.