Submitted by James O'Callaghan, Continuing Education Committee, 2012–2013
A Refresher of Immunoglobulin and Fc-Receptor Biology and Advances Related to Therapeutic Antibody Development
This course, presented by Theodora Salcedo, provided a basic overview of the structure and function of antibodies and their use as therapeutics. Because immune Fc receptors serve to link humoral immune responses to cellular activities within the immune system, these receptors and their antibody binding function were the key topics presented.
Immunoglobulin Fc sequences are being tailored to trigger specific Fc receptors to improve therapeutic outcome. The introduction of amino acid mutations, glycoengineering, and other next generation formats were presented and discussed. Known species differences in immunoglobulins and Fc receptors may influence pharmacologic and toxicologic profiles of therapeutic antibodies. New technologies surrounding the development of therapeutic antibodies were presented as were the challenges of these advances to toxicologic evaluations.