image: Designing antibodies to get into the brain. The tightly regulated blood-brain barrier normally prevents antibody therapeutics from reaching central nervous (CNS) targets at appreciable concentrations. Yu et al. describe a counter-intuitive approach to boost antibody uptake into brain by reducing the affinity for a transcytosis receptor expressed on brain endothelium. A bispecific antibody (3D model shown in yellow and teal) targeting both the transcytosis receptor and BAXE significantly reduced Aβ levels in brain, demonstrating the ability in animal models to potential treat Alzheimer's disease by utilizing this enhanced receptor-mediated targeting approach. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the May 25, 2011, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dr. Y.J. Yu of Genentech Inc. in South San Francisco, Calif., and colleagues, was titled, “Boosting Brain Uptake of a Therapeutic Antibody by Reducing Its Affinity for a Transcytosis Target.” view more
Credit: Image © 2011 Genentech Inc.