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Updated: May 21, 2026

VDJ-Seq: Deep Sequencing Analysis of Rearranged Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Gene to Reveal Clonal Evolution Patterns of B Cell Lymphoma
Published on: December 28, 2015
Variable fragments of heavy chain antibodies (VHHs): a new magic bullet molecule of medicine?
Dorota Smolarek1, Olivier Bertrand, Marcin Czerwinski
1Laboratory of Glycoconjugate Immunochemistry, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
Abstract:
Serum of animals belonging to the Camelidae family (camels and llamas) contains fully active antibodies that are naturally devoid of light chains. Variable domains derived from heavy chain antibodies (hcAb) called VHHs or nanobodies™ can bind antigens as effectively as full-length antibodies and are easy to clone and express. Because of their potential, VHHs are being intensively studied as potential therapeutic, diagnostic and imaging tools. The paper reviews the molecular background of heavy chain antibodies and describes methods of obtaining recombinant fragments of heavy chain antibodies as well as their therapeutic, diagnostic and other applications.
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