Immunomodulatory potential of anti-idiotypic antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases

Anti-Idiotypic mRNA Vaccine to Treat Autoimmune Disorders

The 80+ existing autoimmune disorders (ADs) affect billions with little prevention or treatment options, except for temporary symptomatic management, leading to enormous human suffering and a monumental financial burden. The autoantibodies formed in most ADs have been identified, allowing the development of novel anti-idiotypic antibodies to mute the autoantibodies using vaccines. Nucleoside vaccines have been successfully tested as antigen-specific immunotherapies (ASI), with mRNA technology offering multi-epitope targeting to mute multiple autoantibodies. This paper proposes using mRNA technology to produce anti-idiotypic antibodies with broad effectiveness in preventing and treating them. This paper delves into the state-of-the-art mRNA design strategies used to develop novel ASIs by selecting appropriate T cell and B cell epitopes to generate anti-idiotypic antibodies. The low cost and fast development of mRNA vaccines make this technology the most affordable for the global control of ADs.

Potential of an anti-bevacizumab idiotype scFv DNA-based immunization to elicit VEGF-binding antibody response

Anti-idiotype antibodies have been considered for vaccination approaches against different diseases, including cancers. Based on that, we previously described an anti-bevacizumab idiotype monoclonal antibody, 10.D7, that revealed detectable antitumor effects on a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent tumor model. Herein, we evaluated the possible applicability of a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) for the 10.D7 antibody in a gene immunization strategy. After checking that mammalian cells transfected to express the 10.D7 scFv are recognized by bevacizumab, it was explored the ability of our scFv construction, in a gene-based scheme, to elicit an immune response containing VEGF-binding antibodies. The results provide evidence that the designed 10.D7 scFv construct maintains the anti-bevacizumab idiotype features and has potential to activate an immune response recognizing VEGF.

Application of single-cell RNA sequencing methods to develop B cell targeted treatments for autoimmunity

The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with several transformative advances in single-cell analysis. These new methods along with decades of research and trials with antibody therapeutics and RNA based technologies allowed for highly effective vaccines and treatments to be produced at astonishing speeds. While these tools were initially focused on models of infection, they also show promise in an autoimmune setting. Self-reactive B cells play important roles as antigen-presenting cells and cytokine and autoantibody producers for many autoimmune diseases. Yet, current therapies to target autoreactive B cells deplete all B cells irrespective of their pathogenicity. Development of self-reactive B cell targeting therapies that would spare non-pathogenic B cells are needed to treat disease while allowing effective immune responses to other ailments. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) approaches will aid in identification of the pathogenic self-reactive B cells operative in autoimmunity and help with development of more favorable precision targeted therapies.

Therapeutic approaches for anti-sperm-antibodies in the testicular sperm aspiration rat model

Background and Aim: Anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs) treatment continued to be neglected. This study aimed to generate ASAs using the testicular sperm aspiration (TSA) rat model, which allowed for investigation of four distinct therapeutic approaches to find potential treatments for ASAs. Materials and Methods: Adult Wistar albino male rats were divided into six equal groups (n = 12). The negative control group underwent scrotal sac surgery without having their testicles punctured. Punctures were made in the remaining 5 groups, with one group left untreated to serve as the positive control group. The remaining 4 groups were treated with either dexamethasone (DEX), azathioprine (AZA), frankincense, or anti-ASAs secondary antibodies. For 10 weeks, serum samples were collected every 2 weeks for specific quantification of ASAs. Testis and epididymis tissues were collected for histopathological analysis. Results: The ASAs concentrations of the positive controls were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.001) than their negative control counterparts during the examined weeks. However, The ASAs indices (%) differed according to the treatment type. While the ASAs indices at the 2nd and 4th weeks in the AZA-treated group were significantly reduced compared to the positive control group (p ≤ 0.001), no significant differences were observed at any of the sample collection week for the DEX-treated rats. The ASAs indices were significantly decreased only at weeks 6 and 8 of treatment in the frankincense-treated group (p ≤ 0.001). In the secondary antibodies-treated group, the antibody indices were significantly decreased in all weeks except for samples collected at week 4 (p ≤ 0.001). The testosterone levels reverted to normal only in TSA rats treated with either Frankincense or secondary antibodies, as they were significantly higher than the positive controls (p ≤ 0.05). Tissue samples from the secondary antibody-treated rats showed a generally normal histological appearance. Conclusion: This study tried to offer realistic therapy suggestions; however, caution should be applied when extrapolating findings from experimental models to meet clinical requirements.

Clinical implications of anti-idiotype antibodies in COVID-19

Idiotype-based therapeutics have failed to deliver their promise, necessitating rethinking of the concept and its potential to develop a viable immunotherapy method. The idiotype based hypothesis is discussed in this paper in order to produce effective anti-idiotype vaccinations. Polyclonal anti-idiotype reagents have been shown to be more successful in animal models, and a better understanding of the immune response in humans supports the idea that polyclonal anti-idiotype vaccines will be more effective than monoclonal-based anti-idiotype vaccines. This innovative approach can be used to produce therapeutic antibodies in a Biotech-standard manner. The idiotype network has been tweaked in the lab to provide protection against a variety of microbiological diseases. Antibodies to image-idiotype antigens, both internal and non-internal, can elicit unique immune responses to antigens. The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-2) has presented a fantastic chance to use idiotype/anti-idiotype antibodies as a protective regimen, which might be used to treat COVID-19 patients. The development of various effective vaccinations has been crucial in the pandemic's management, but their effectiveness has been limited. In certain healthy people, the development of viral variations and vaccinations can be linked to rare off-target or hazardous effects, such as allergic responses, myocarditis and immune-mediated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia. Many of these occurrences are most likely immune-mediated. The current analysis reveals successful idiotype/anti-idiotype antibody uses in a variety of viral illnesses, emphazising their importance in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Autoantibodies - enemies, and/or potential allies?

Autoantibodies are well known as potentially highly harmful antibodies which attack the host via binding to self-antigens, thus causing severe associated diseases and symptoms (e.g. autoimmune diseases). However, detection of autoantibodies to a range of disease-associated antigens has enabled their successful usage as important tools in disease diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. There are several advantages of using such autoantibodies. These include the capacity to measure their presence very early in disease development, their stability, which is often much better than their related antigen, and the capacity to use an array of such autoantibodies for enhanced diagnostics and to better predict prognosis. They may also possess capacity for utilization in therapy, in vivo. In this review both the positive and negative aspects of autoantibodies are critically assessed, including their role in autoimmune diseases, cancers and the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Important issues related to their detection are also highlighted.