Single chain fragment variable, a new theranostic approach for cardiovascular diseases

Front Immunol. 2024 Dec 13:15:1443290. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1443290. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a significant global health challenge, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite recent advancements in CVD management, pharmaceutical treatments often suffer from poor pharmacokinetics and high toxicity. With the rapid progress of modern molecular biology and immunology, however, single-chain fragment variable (scFv) molecule engineering has emerged as a promising theranostic tool to offer specificity and versatility in targeting CVD-related antigens. To represent the latest development on the potential of scFv in the context of CVDs, this review summarized the new mechanism of action and applications as therapeutic, as well as diagnostic agents. Furthermore, the advantages of scFv, including its small size, ease of modification, and ability to be engineered for enhanced affinity and specificity, are also described. Finally, such challenges as immunogenicity, stability, and scalability, alongside strategies to overcome these hurdles, are deeply scrutinized to provide safer and more effective strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of the incurable CVDs.

Keywords: antibody engineering; cardiovascular diseases; diagnostics; single-chain fragment variable; therapeutics.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cardiovascular Diseases* / diagnosis
  • Cardiovascular Diseases* / therapy
  • Humans
  • Precision Medicine
  • Single-Chain Antibodies* / immunology
  • Single-Chain Antibodies* / therapeutic use
  • Theranostic Nanomedicine

Substances

  • Single-Chain Antibodies

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Major Research Plan Project (91742101); Anhui International Science and Technology Collaborative Project, China (1604b0602017); Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, China (1608085MH160); Molecular Enzymology and Molecular Detection Excellent Innovation Team of Universities in Anhui Province (2022AH010012); Funds from Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Enzymology and Mechanism of Major Diseases, and Key Laboratory of Biomedicine in Gene Diseases and Health of Anhui Higher Education Institutes.