197 results about "MHC class I" patented technology

There is provided a method for selecting a tolerogenic peptide by selecting a peptide which is capable of binding to an MHC class I or II molecule without further processing. There is also provided a peptide selected by such a method and its use in a pharmaceutical composition and a method to treat and / or prevent a disease. The present invention also relates to a composition which comprises the following myelin basic protein (MBP) peptides: MBP 30-44; MBP 83-99; MBP 131-145; and MBP 140-154. The composition may be used to treat a disease, in particular multiple sclerosis and / or optical neuritis and the invention also relates to such uses and methods.

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for eliciting an immune response and the prevention and treatment of primary and metastatic neoplastic diseases and infectious diseases. The methods of the invention comprise administering a composition comprising an effective amount of a complex, in which the complex consists essentially of a heat shock protein (hsp) noncovalently bound to an antigenic molecule. "Antigenic molecule" as used herein refers to the peptides with which the hsps are endogenously associated in vivo as well as exogenous antigens / immunogens (i.e., with which the hsps are not complexed in vivo) or antigenic / immunogenic fragments and derivatives thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the complex is autologous to the individual. The effective amounts of the complex are in the range of 10-600 micrograms for complexes comprising hsp7o, 50-1000 micrograms for hsp9o, and 10-600 micrograms for gp96. The invention also provides a method for measuring tumor rejection in viva in an individual, preferably a human, comprising measuring the generation by the individual of MHC Class I-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific to the tumor. Methods of purifying hsp7o-peptide complexes are also provided.

A disulfide trap, comprising an antigen peptide covalently attached to an MHC class I heavy chain molecule by a disulfide bond extending between two cysteines, is disclosed. In some configurations, a disulfide trap, such as a disulfide trap single chain trimer (dtSCT), can comprise a single contiguous polypeptide chain. Upon synthesis in a cell, a disulfide trap oxidizes properly in the ER, and can be recognized by T cells. In some configurations, a peptide moiety of a disulfide trap is not displaced by high-affinity competitor peptides, even if the peptide binds the heavy chain relatively weakly. In various configurations, a disulfide trap can be used for vaccination, to elicit CD8 T cells, and in multivalent MHC / peptide reagents for the enumeration and tracking of T cells. Also disclosed are nucleic acids comprising a sequence encoding a disulfide trap. Such nucleic acids, which can be DNA vectors, can be used as vaccines.

A new method to capture, purify and expand antigen-specific T lymphocytes has been developed using magnetic beads coated with recombinant MHC class I molecules. This method was optimized using homogenous populations of naive T cells purified from mice transgenic for the 2C T cell receptor (TCR). These T cells were captured on beads coated with MHC class I molecules and the relevant antigenic peptides. MHC and peptide specificity was confirmed by the usage of irrelevant MHC peptide combinations. An enrichment of 800 to 1600 fold was measured, using 2C T cells mixed with irrelevant T cells, starting from a 2C T cell frequency of 1 / 3000. The same approach was used to purify antigen-specific CD8+ T cells from total CD8+ T cells from naive mice. The recovered cells could be expanded and specifically kill target cells in vitro; they had a significant effect in vivo as well. We expect this procedure to be suitable to purify and expand in vitro tumor- and virus-specific killer T cells for use in cell therapy.