Topic: nanobodies

Derived from the unique immune system of camelids, nanobodies are compact single-domainantibodies that have revolutionized the field of biomedical research. These miniaturized antibodies offer numerous advantages, including high specificity, stability, and ease of engineering. Interestingly, A2AR and mGlu5R form heteromers in the striatum, exhibiting synergistic transinhibition over striatal D2R signaling. 1 This oligomerization provides a unique pharmacological opportunity to explore whether the physical proximity of these receptors enables oligomer-dependent orthogonal targeting of counterpa

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are the largest family of membrane proteins in the human genome and represent targets of about 30% of the marketed drugs. Among GPCRs, metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are interesting targets as they regulate neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission in the central nervous system, and are involved in various brain diseases. Due to the lack of specific tools, their specific subunit composition in native tissues is still difficult to determine. Finding highly specific tools to target each mGluR subunit is still a challenge that single domain anti

Studying synaptic proteins, which are regulating synaptic transmission and organization, is a challenging task as traditional localization and staining methods face limitations in mapping proteins in living cells. For example, traditional antibodies are too large to freely diffuse into the extracellular protein-enriched synaptic cleft and the use of detergents for improving cell penetration cannot be applied in living cells and damages synaptic membrane integrity. We are particularly interested in understanding the mechanism of calcium-regulated neurotransmitter release and synapse formation b