Tackling antimicrobial resistance using human antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies enable precision medicine approaches by allowing highly specific diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections, supporting targeted therapies against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens while preserving the host microbiota.
Bispecific monoclonal antibodies, combination therapy with antibiotics, and antibody–drug conjugates can improve efficacy against multidrug resistant infections.
Monoclonal antibody discovery against bacteria is more complex than against viruses due to their larger genomes, antigenic diversity, pathogen heterogeneity, and the presence of masking capsules.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly applied to accelerate discovery, optimize binding specificity, and enhance fragment crystallizable mediated activities of monoclonal antibodies.
Robust, high-throughput functional assays remain critical for screening and selecting functional antibacterial monoclonal antibodies.
Beyond therapy and diagnostics, monoclonal antibodies can be used to identify correlates of protection, supporting vaccine design, as well as clinical and research applications.
https://www.cell.com/trends/immunology/fulltext/S1471-4906(26)00096-7
