Designing Immunotherapies to Thwart Drug Abuse

Depiction of the mechanism by which a drug-specific antibody protects the brain from adverse health effects. When drugs of abuse are self-administered, the drug (yellow circles, “Before”) rushes from the bloodstream (in gray) across the blood-brain barrier into the brain where it binds to sites of action (blue terminals) that produce euphoria. “After Treatment” with a high affinity anti-drug antibody (Y-shaped object), drug entry into the brain is restricted and rapid antibody-induced redistribution occurs which blocks or reduces the rewarding pharmacological effects. (Artwork by Misty Ward Stevens, Rachel Phillips, and Michael Owens.)