Special Issue Editor

Dr. Cecile King

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Guest Editor

School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: ADCC; neutralizing antibodies; cytokines; IL-21; IL-22; T cells, B cells; autoimmune disease; mucosal autoimmunity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this issue, we aim to draw together some of the latest research on antibodies directed against cytokines used in both research and clinical settings. Cytokines are small cell-signaling protein molecules secreted by cells of the immune system that regulate host responses to infection, inflammation, and trauma. Cytokines deliver signals between cells, and often across short distances during cell-to-cell interactions, which influence cellular growth and differentiation.

Antibodies directed against cytokines have had an enormous impact on biomedical research. Research Laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries continue to focus on the development of antibodies directed against cytokines for the treatment of cancer, chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Attention has focused on blocking cytokines, which are harmful to the host and using antibodies bound to cytokines to expand subsets of T cells that can regulate immune responses. Strategies include neutralizing antibodies, cytokine-cytokine antibody complexes, soluble receptors, receptor antagonist and targeting molecules that are important for the processing of cytokines.

Dr. Cecile King
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibodies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cytokines
growth factors
anti-cytokine antibodies
immune complexes
autoimmunity
cancer
inflammation
cytokine receptor trap
potentiating antibodies
neutralizing antibodies
bioavailability

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of a Phospho-Specific Antibody to the Fcε Receptor γ Chain, Reveals Differences in the Regulation of Syk and Akt Phosphorylation

by Ryo Suzuki, Sarah Leach, Barbara Dema and Juan Rivera

Antibodies 2013, 2(2), 321-337; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib2020321 - 13 May 2013

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8141

Abstract

We previously demonstrated that the Fc receptor γ-chain Y⁵⁸(C-terminal tyrosine) is highly susceptible to dephosphorylation; a mechanism that controls the extent of Syk activation and the downstream signaling in mast cells. Here, we explored the importance of the γ-chain Y⁴⁷ (N-terminal tyrosine) in mast cell signaling. We generated a highly sensitive and versatile phospho-specific antibody that recognized the phosphorylated Y⁴⁷ in various species. Using this antibody, we found that mutation of the FcεRIβ Y²¹⁹ to phenylalanine caused a loss in the phosphorylation of the γ-chain Y⁴⁷, consistent with the previously described role of Y²¹⁹ in Lyn association with FcεRIβ and subsequent FcεRIγ phosphorylation. These conditions also diminished the tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk and LAT1 but, surprisingly, not the phosphorylation of Akt at T³⁰⁸. Mutation of Y⁴⁷ or Y⁵⁸ of the γ-chain also caused a marked inhibition of Syk and LAT1 phosphorylation, but only the latter mutant showed a reduction in Akt phosphorylation. These findings show that the full phosphorylation of Syk and LAT1 requires the FcεRIβ Y²¹⁹ and both Y⁴⁷ and Y⁵⁸ of the γ-chain. However, T³⁰⁸ phosphorylation of Akt is largely independent of FcεRIγ Y⁴⁷ phosphorylation and of the Lyn-binding site (Y²¹⁹) on the FcεRIβ. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cytokine Growth Factor Antibodies in Immunotherapy)

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Review

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342 KiB

Open AccessReview

Molecular Engineering of Therapeutic Cytokines

by Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, Brendan Roome and Daniel Christ

Antibodies 2013, 2(3), 426-451; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib2030426 - 03 Jul 2013

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 16880

Abstract

Over the past three decades, a large body of work has been directed at the development of therapeutic cytokines. Despite their central role in immune modulation, only a handful of cytokine therapeutics has achieved regulatory approval. One of the major challenges associated with the therapeutic use of cytokines relates to their short serum half-life and low bioavailability. High doses are required to overcome these problems, which often result in dose-limiting toxicities. Consequently, most cytokines require protein engineering approaches to reduce toxicity and increase half-life. For this purpose, PEGylation, fusion proteins, antibody complexes and mutagenesis have been utilized. Here, we summarize past, recent and emerging strategies in this area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cytokine Growth Factor Antibodies in Immunotherapy)

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