{
  "id": 9676309,
  "title": "Size-dependent effect of site-specific polyethylene glycol modification of trastuzumab on the antibody functions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/size-dependent-effect-of-site-specific-polyethylene-glycol",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753936v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Polymer modification of antibodies has attracted interest for improving their functionality. Researchers have explored modifying antibodies with polyethylene glycol (PEG) or biopolymers like antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates. While direct impacts of these modifications at the site of modification have been understood, the influence of modifications on intrinsic antibody functions, such as antigen-binding and Fc receptor-binding activities, has remained less clear.\n\nTo investigate these effects, a study prepared site-specifically PEGylated trastuzumab. The research aimed to evaluate how the modification site and the size of PEG chains impact antibody functions. The findings, revealed through reporter gene assays, showed a significant reduction in antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity. This reduction was observed in a site- and size-dependent manner.\n\nThe study discovered that both the interaction with the antigen and Fc{gamma}RIIIa were reduced in a size-dependent manner. Interestingly, the impact of the modification site only affected ADCC activity, indicating that the higher-order structure of the modified antibody plays a crucial role in effector functions. These results provide valuable molecular design guidelines for the polymer modification of antibodies.",
  "summary": "Polymer modification of antibodies has attracted attention for enhancing antibody functionality. Modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG) or biopolymers such as antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates has been investigated. Although direct effects at the modification site have been understood, distal effects of modifications on intrinsic antibody functions such as antigen-binding and Fc…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}