Effect of posttranslational modifications and subclass on IgG activity: from immunity to immunotherapy

  • Falk Nimmerjahn*
  • , Gestur Vidarsson
  • , Mark S. Cragg
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Humoral immune responses are characterized by complex mixtures of polyclonal antibody species varying in their isotype, target epitope specificity and affinity. Posttranslational modifications occurring during antibody production in both the antibody variable and constant domain create further complexity and can modulate antigen specificity and antibody Fc-dependent effector functions, respectively. Finally, modifications of the antibody backbone after secretion may further impact antibody activity. An in-depth understanding of how these posttranslational modifications impact antibody function, especially in the context of individual antibody isotypes and subclasses, is only starting to emerge. Indeed, only a minute proportion of this natural variability in the humoral immune response is currently reflected in therapeutic antibody preparations. In this Review, we summarize recent insights into how IgG subclass and posttranslational modifications impact IgG activity and discuss how these insights may be used to optimize therapeutic antibody development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1244-1255
Number of pages12
JournalNature Immunology
Volume24
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Springer Nature America, Inc.

Funding

This work has been funded by grants from the German Research Foundation (TRR305-B02, CRC1181-A07, CRC1526-A07, FOR2886-B2 and FOR2953-P3) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH; U01-AI-148119 and 5U19A/142790-04) to F.N. and by grants from Cancer Research UK (A20537, DRCDDRPGM-Apr2020\100005 and A24721) and NIH (grant UO1AI148153) to M.S.C.

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of HealthU01-AI-148119, 5U19A/142790-04
Cancer Research UKUO1AI148153, A24721, A20537, DRCDDRPGM-Apr2020\100005
the Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftFOR2953-P3, TRR305-B02, CRC1181-A07, FOR2886-B2, CRC1526-A07

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