Molly Regan
Research Mentor: Matthias Truttmann
Mentor Department: molecular and integrative physiology, Medicine
Author(s): Molly Regan, Tessa Casselman, Asa Huffaker, Mary Skinner, Matthias Truttmann
Session: Session 5 (2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 93
Abstract
Heavy-chain-only antibodies are uniquely produced by camelids and sharks, featuring a small variable domain at their tip, that when isolated is known as a nanobody. Nanobodies are valuable for their small size when compared to a conventional antibody while still having antibody-like recognition, which enables them to be used in various biomedical applications. This research focuses on isolating the variable heavy-chain (VHH) region of nanobodies from nanomice that are engineered to express the camelid heavy-chain only antibodies. This was done by extracting RNA from immunogenic mouse tissue and blood, converting it to cDNA and then amplifying the specific VHH regions from the cDNA via PCR. PCR products were verified through gel electrophoresis to determine if the 440 bp region corresponding to the VHH region was present and the corresponding regions were purified from the gels. These initial steps have laid the groundwork for the future cloning and purification of nanobodies. This contributes to the ongoing effort to utilize these nanobodies for applications in the laboratory, and evaluate them for the possible diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
