Emerging Microbes & Infections

The hybridoma technique, invented by César Milstein and Georges Köhler, who received the Nobel Prize in 1984 in physiology and medicine, enables scientists to efficiently isolate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Later, the phage display technique was introduced and developed as a powerful tool for antibody discovery and isolation, and both George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter were awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for this contribution. Nowadays, two additional alternative strategies have been widely used for mAb isolation: the humanized mouse platforms and the single B cell cloning technology.

Accordingly, the RSV-prophylactic mAb palivizumab, the first antiviral monoclonal antibody drug, was approved by FDA in 1998. With advances in new antibody technologies, a next-generation anti-RSV mAb with extended half-life and excellent safety and efficacy profiles compared to palivizumab was recently approved by FDA. The COVID-19 pandemic further catalyzed antiviral mAb development, with several SARS-CoV-2 mAb drugs being EUA-authorized for treatment or emergency use. Moreover, many antiviral mAbs are undergoing clinical evaluation for prophylaxis or treatment against viral infection, such as influenza virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), dengue virus, Ebola virus, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and more. Therefore, technological innovations have boosted the discovery of antiviral antibodies with broad and potent neutralizing activity and further promoted the development of antiviral antibody drugs for clinical research and approved therapeutic applications.

Although a great achievement has been made in antiviral antibodies, there are still many obstacles. For example, the newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants exhibited strong antibody evasion capacity, while the development of mAb drugs has consistently lagged one step behind the virus. Additionally, many approved antibody drugs have been used in high-income countries because of their high cost. Moreover, so far, there is no evidence that the antibody therapy alone could functionally cure the chronic viral infections like HIV and HBV.

Therefore, in this Article Collection titled “Fighting Back: Breakthroughs and Obstacles in Antibody Therapy and Prophylaxis for Viral Infectious Diseases”, we aim to discuss the breakthroughs, obstacles, and resolutions for antibody-based prophylaxis and therapy against infectious viruses. Any article types consistent with Emerging Microbes & Infections' author guidelines that investigate the following aspects are welcomed:

(1) the importance of broadly neutralizing activity for maximal antiviral efficacy;

(2) the co-evolution between mAbs and viruses;

(3) clinical trail findings for antibody prophylaxis and treatment;

(4) antibodies against unpopular and future viruses;

(5) evaluating the safety and side-effect of mAbs;

(6) strategies for engineering mAb half-life extension and durability;

(7) innovations in antibody production and purifications;

(8) optimal mAb delivery systems;

(9) identification of mAb binding sites and epitope conformation for vaccine development;

(10) exploring the roles of non-neutralizing antibodies in treatment and prevention of viral infection.

Keywords: Antibody, Vaccine, Virus, Therapy, Prophylaxis

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Guest Advisors

Shibo Jiang, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor at the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. His main research interest is the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines. He has published 572 papers (total IF: 7,662, average IF: 13.4) in SCI journals such as Cell (x3), Nature (x2), Science (x2), Lancet (x4), CNS’ sister journals (x71), with total 44,330 citations and an h-index of 104. He has applied for 104 patents, 54 of which were issued and 11 of them were licensed out. For further details about Prof. Shibo Jiang's professional profile, kindly refer to the link:  https://basicmed.fudan.edu.cn/9e/2c/c28574a302636/page.htm

Qiao Wang, Ph.D. is a principal investigator at the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He studies the antibody diversification in B lymphocytes and the human B cell antibody immune response against different pathogens, including Zika virus (ZIKV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), SARS-CoV-2, and Monkeypox virus (MPXV). He also explores novel therapeutic strategies for infectious diseases by using broadly neutralizing antibodies. For further details about Prof Qiao Wang's professional profile, kindly refer to the link: https://basicmed.fudan.edu.cn/9e/2c/c28574a302636/page.htm; https://sciprofiles.com/profile/2423485

Jinghe Huang, Ph.D. is a principal investigator at the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Prof. Huang's research focuses on broadly neutralizing antibodies and managed to overcome the "bottleneck" problem imposed by the high mutation rates of viruses. Prof. Huang has authored over 50 publications in leading journals, including Nature (2X), Immunity, JAMA IM, Cell Research, Science Immunology. She also holds four U.S. patents and nine Chinese patents related to her research on broadly neutralizing antibodies. Prof. Huang leads the National Major Science and Technology Projects of China for the 13th Five-Year Plan. She is a Distinguished Professor of the Yangtze River Scholar Program awarded by the Ministry of Education of China. For further details about Prof. Jinghe Huang's professional profile, kindly refer to the link: https://basicmed.fudan.edu.cn/9a/97/c28574a301719/page.htm

Disclosure Statement: Prof. Jiang and Prof. Wang have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Prof. Huang is the founder of the startup company Shanghai Tian'en Baiyao Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd., which is dedicated to the R&D of broadly neutralizing antibodies as well as antibody screening and engineering services. The company is currently in its preparatory stage. Neither Prof. Wang nor Prof. Huang will be involved in the peer review process.

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All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is July 31st, 2024.

Please contact Ruby Ru at [email protected] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

To submit your papers to this Article Collection, please:

1. Check "yes" for the question, "Are you submitting your paper for a specific special issue or article collection?"
2. Select the relevant Article Collection from the drop-down menu under the question, "Special Issue or Article Collection Name."

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