Passive immunotherapy of viral infections: 'super-antibodies' enter the fray

Abstract

Antibodies have been used for over a century prophylactically and, less often, therapeutically against viruses. 'Super-antibodies' — a new generation of highly potent and/or broadly cross-reactive human monoclonal antibodies — offer new opportunities for prophylaxis and therapy of viral infections. Super-antibodies are typically generated infrequently and/or in a limited number of individuals during natural infections. Isolation of these antibodies has primarily been achieved by large-scale screening for suitable donors and new single B cell approaches to human monoclonal antibody generation. Super-antibodies may offer the possibility of treating multiple viruses of a given family with a single reagent. They are also valuable templates for rational vaccine design. The great potency of super-antibodies has many advantages for practical development as therapeutic reagents. These advantages can be enhanced by a variety of antibody engineering technologies.