Selection and characterization of llama single domain antibodies against N-terminal huntingtin

Huntington disease is caused by expansion of a CAG repeat in the huntingtin gene that is translated into an elongated polyglutamine stretch within the N-terminal domain of the huntingtin protein. The mutation is thought to introduce a gain-of-toxic function in the mutant huntingtin protein, and blocking this toxicity by antibody binding could alleviate Huntington disease pathology. Llama single domain antibodies (VHH) directed against mutant huntingtin are interesting candidates as therapeutic agents or research tools in Huntington disease because of their small size, high thermostability, low cost of production, possibility of intracellular expression, and potency of blood-brain barrier passage. We have selected VHH from llama phage display libraries that specifically target the N-terminal domain of the huntingtin protein. Our VHH are capable of binding wild-type and mutant human huntingtin under native and denatured conditions and can be used in Huntington disease studies as a novel antibody that is easy to produce and manipulate. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10072-014-1971-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.