dr. Arne Matthys (PhD)

Drug delivery to the brain is severely limited by the presence of protective brain barriers, leading to limited treatment efficacy. To overcome this challenge, we plan to use single-domain antibodies (VHHs) as "Trojan horses" to cross these barriers. By coupling therapeutic cargo to VHHs capable of penetrating the brain, we aim to enable new treatment strategies for a variety of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and various brain tumors.
Our research focuses on the discovery and validation of novel VHHs with brain barrier crossing properties. One key example is a VHH that targets folate receptor alpha (FOLR1), which is highly expressed at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. Since FOLR1 is also overexpressed in rapidly proliferating tissues, including certain brain tumors, we hypothesize that our anti-FOLR1 VHH can readily translocate across the brain barrier and selectively target FOLR1-positive brain cancer cells.
We are currently investigating the potential of this VHH to deliver therapeutics and imaging agents directly to FOLR1-expressing brain tumors. While protein therapeutics are a primary focus, small molecules and nucleic acid-based drugs are also under consideration. These efforts aim to advance the use of VHHs as targeted therapies and imaging tools for brain cancers.
 

More and more biological drugs are entering the market to treat a wide range of diseases, and their discovery requires specialized expertise. I was initially trained as a pharmaceutical scientist and later focused my doctoral research on antibody-based therapeutics. During my Ph.D., I discovered broad and potent VHHs targeting the influenza B virus, work that has been summarized in a publication (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60232-3) and patent (EP 23216759.3). Building on my background in protein therapeutics and my interest in single-domain antibody therapeutics, I am now leveraging these versatile molecules to facilitate cargo delivery into the brain.
 

• Single-domain antibodies directed against hemagglutinin and neuraminidase protect against influenza B viruses. Nature Communications volume 16, Article number: 5831 (2025).
   

• Lab address: Vandenbroucke Lab, Barriers in Inflammation Lab, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 71, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
• Arne Matthys provides knowledge of 
  - antibodies and their design
  - single-domain antibody generation, selection, and characterization
• Arne Matthys is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks