Structure and Function of Antibodies

Dear Colleagues

This Special Issue aims to review the current knowledge in the field of immunotherapy with a view to providing insight that may inform the next generation of antibody therapeutics. The design and clinical application of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics requires a comprehensive understanding of the intimate relationship between structure and function. Continued reports of adverse reactions and/or loss of efficacy are evidence of the need for a deeper and more precise understanding of sequelae following immune intervention(s); however, the unique structure of a mAb may inevitably result in elicitation of anti-drug antibodies (ADA), at least in a proportion of patients. Further insights into the mechanisms of action (MoA) in vivo require the elucidation of parameters that determine the “architecture” of the immune complexes formed, e.g., epitope specificity, affinity, isotype, etc. Advances towards the generation of structurally homogeneous mAbs, e.g., glycoforms, may be realised through cell engineering to control/regulate intracellular pathways, e.g., post-translational modifications. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) reveals individual and population polymorphisms within immune repertoires, e.g., the antibody variable region and cellular receptor genes that may be relevant to patient stratification and the pursuit of personalized medicine. The armamentarium should be extended beyond IgG to include the other antibody isotypes, e.g., IgA, IgM, and IgE.

Prof. Dr. Roy Jefferis
Prof. Dr. William R. (Bill) Strohl
Prof. Dr. Koichi Kato
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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 semimonthly 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.