Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42129104›Full record

ArticleMethods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)2026

Generation and Characterization of Bispecific VHH-Derived Surrogate Agonists Mimicking the Function of IL-18.

Britta Lipinski, Desislava Elter, Paul Arras, Laura Unmuth, Simon Krah, Achim Doerner, Andreas Evers, Lukas Pekar, Stefan Zielonka

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Article in Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Britta LipinskiAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Desislava ElterAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Paul ArrasAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Laura UnmuthAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Simon KrahAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Achim DoernerAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Andreas EversAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Lukas PekarAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Stefan ZielonkaAntibody Discovery and Protein Engineering (ADPE), Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Stefan.zielonka@tu-darmstadt.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a promising cytokine for immunotherapy. Besides exploiting the cytokine itself or mutant versions thereof for biomedical applications, bi- and multispecific antibody scaffolds can be harnessed that mimic the function of IL-18 by triggering receptor signaling. In addition to potential advantages with respect of manufacturability, a major benefit in using bispecific antibody derivatives relies in the different structure and sequence of the antibody compared to the cytokine. The activity of IL-18 is normally regulated in a negative feedback loop via IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) that binds with high affinities to IL-18 and prevents IL-18 from binding to its receptor. This physiological process is hijacked in certain types of cancer. We have generated VHH-derived bispecific surrogate agonists that are naturally resistant to inhibition by the decoy receptor IL-18BP. In this chapter, we detail protocols about the generation and characterization of IL-18 mimicking bispecifics.

Indexed as

Antibodies, BispecificInterleukin-18Single-Domain AntibodiesAnimalsHumansIntercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsProtein EngineeringAntibodies, BispecificIntercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsInterleukin-18interleukin-18 binding proteinSingle-Domain AntibodiesAntibody engineeringBispecific antibodiesCytokine mimeticIL-18Single domain antibodySurrogate agonistVHH

Identifiers

PMID42129104

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.