Line Ledsgaard

Rachael Leah, Marie Møller, Hanif Ali, John McCafferty, Bruno Lomonte, José Gutiérrez, and @A_KarattVellatt. And thanks to @DTUbioengineer, @IontasLtd, @sophionbio, and Instituto Clodomiro Picado in Costa Rica for making this work possible!

Do you think it is possible to neutralize lethality of neurotoxic cobra venom using human monoclonal antibodies? - Read our new pre-print to find out! biorxiv.org/content/10.110… @AndreasLaustsen @A_KarattVellatt @TropicalPharLab @VILLUMFONDEN @jack_wade6 @DTUbioengineer @DTUtweet

Thanks to all the people who contributed to this work and enabled us to reach this important milestone! @AndreasLaustsen, Urska Pus, @jack_wade6, Pedro Villar, Kim Boddum, Peter Slavny, Edward Masters, Ana Arias, Saioa Oscoz, Daniel Griffiths, Alice Luther, Majken Lindholm

The results of this study give hope for a future where Recombinant Antivenoms based on human antibodies might provide a safer and more efficacious replacement for traditional animal-derived antivenoms.

Finally, we tested the mAb in vivo. Here, we showed that a single human mAb was able to neutralize the lethality induced by Naja kaouthia whole venom. This is the first study showing neutralization of whole venom by a single human monoclonal IgG.

The improved mAb was also able to neutralize the effect of the toxin on whole live cells, as determined using automated patch-clamp technology performed in collaboration with @sophionbio

We affinity matured one of these mAbs using chain-shuffling, which resulted in the discovery of a mAb with sub-nanomolar affinity and improved ability to block the interaction between the neurotoxins and the receptor they block.

As a collaborative project between @IontasLtd, @TropicalPharLab, and Instituto Clodomiro Picado we wanted to discover human mAbs that could neutralize the lethal effect of these neurotoxins. We used phage display to discover mAbs that we showed prolonged survival of mice.

Every year more than 100,000 people die as a result of snakebite. One of the most medically relevant snakes is the monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia). Roughly 50% of its venom is comprised of neurotoxins, giving it its paralyzing bite.

Congratulations @LLedsgaard on developing the first human monoclonal antibody for a venom! Groundbreaking work with very high potential for improving antivenom treatment! #VenOx21 @TropicalPharLab

Også et STORT tillykke til de 20 modtagere af #EliteForsk-rejsestipendierne.👏 De talentfulde ph.d.-studerende kan bruge stipendiet på studieophold ved de allerbedste forskningsmiljøer i verden. Læs om alle modtagerne her: bit.ly/3tZg47Y #dkforsk #forskpol #dkvid

Congratulations to our own PhD student @LLedsgaard and all the others for receiving the Elite Research Travel Grant handed by H.K.H. Crown Princess Mary and Minister of Education and Research Jesper Petersen. #snakebiteresearch #travelgrant #tropicalpharmacology @DTUbioengineer

Since the #lab is growing, we organized a 2-day TPL #symposium about #phagedisplay, #snakevenom and #antibodies. We also worked on #personaldevelopment and #teambuilding, and closed off with a #BBQ.

My awesome students, Rasmus, Christoffer, and Line, have written a great popular science article about "How smart #antibodies can lead to superior treatments". Front page: @ScienceNordic sciencenordic.com/denmark-health… @DTUtweet @DTUbioengineer @TropicalPharLab @VILLUMscience

20 #EliteForsk-rejsestipendier uddeles til særligt talentfulde ph.d.-studerende – læs om alle modtagerne bit.ly/3tZg47Y #dkforsk #forskpol #dkvid

Proud of my awesome PhD student Line Ledsgaard for being awarded the #EliteForsk-rejsestipendie, which might be the most prestigeous travel scholarship a PhD student can get in Denmark! @DTUbioengineer @DTUtweet @TropicalPharLab @IontasLtd @A_KarattVellatt