The Masking Game: Design of Activatable Antibodies and Mimetics for Selective Therapeutics and Cell Control

Abstract

The high selectivity and affinity of antibody binding havemade antibodies all-pervasive tools in therapy, diagnosis, and basic science.A plethora of chemogenetic approaches has been devised to makeantibodies responsive to stimuli ranging from light to enzymatic activity,temperature, pH, ions, and effector molecules. Within a single decade, thefield of activatable antibodies has yielded marketed therapeutics capable ofengaging antigens that could not be targeted with traditional antibodies, aswell as new tools to control intracellular protein location and investigatebiological processes. Many opportunities remain untapped, waiting formore efficient and generally applicable masking strategies to be developedat the interface between chemistry and biotechnology