A New Type of Antibody –

For a long time 5 antibody types have been known in mammals, IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE, and IgD, with IgG being the work horse in biotechnology. So it drew our attention that a group at Duke University has described a new type of anti-glycan antibody that binds to a patch of the chain-like sugars on the outer shell of HIV, effectively neutralizing the virus. The newly identified group of anti-glycan antibodies—referred by the Duke team as Fab-dimerized glycan-reactive (FDG) antibodies—had previously gone undiscovered as a potential option against HIV. The group’s recent Cell paper – available here as biorxiv preprint – suggests that this new antibody could unlock innovative strategies for HIV vaccines, and possibly vaccine against other viral and even fungal pathogens. Interesting!!