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OwnerManuel Castro Cabezas, Hans van Dijkinventors
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Complement is recognized as an important, humoral defense system involved in the innate (nonspecific) recognition and elimination of microbial invaders, other foreign particles or molecules, and antigen-antibody complexes from the body. The present invention makes use of the surprising notion that the handling of lipids by the body, rather than its antimicrobial activity, is the primary and most ancient function of the complement system. Consequently, atherosclerosis as observed in disorders associated with disturbed lipid metabolism must be ascribed to either genetic or acquired defects in ancient (activatory and/or regulatory) complement components. The surprising notion is of considerable consequence to the treatment of diseases of the immune system and/or an infectious, autoimmune, neoplastic and/or hematological disease related to complement-mediated lipid metabolism and/or an underlying and/or related disease since lipids and immune complexes share the same transport pathway in the human body. Other implications of the same invention, based on the notion that lipoproteins and lymphocytes share the lymph pathway to arrive in the blood circulation, are that the lipid metabolizing system may be employed to effectively manipulate the immune system. Based on this aspect of the invention, novel oral vaccination and oral immunomodulation strategies are introduced as well.
A method for the treatment or prophylaxis of immune diseases associated with the complement/lipid pathway comprising modulating the activity of one or more elements in said compliment/lipid pathway.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said modulating the activity of one or more elements comprises administering one or more modulators.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the modulator is selected from the group consisting of MBL, MBL-replacement factors, C4A and functional equivalents thereof, C4B and functional equivalents thereof, C2 and functional equivalents thereof, C3 and functional equivalents thereof, IgG- and IgM-antibodies raised against triglyceride-rich particles, LDL and parts thereof, C3adesArg, factor B and functional equivalents thereof, factor D and functional equivalents thereof, factor P and functional equivalents thereof, serum carboxypeptidases, such as sCP-N, and functional equivalents thereof, erythrocyte- bound CR1 and functional equivalents thereof, free CR1 and functional equivalents thereof, CR1 mimetics such as C3b antibodies, vitronectin and functional equivalents thereof, clusterin and functional equivalents thereof, apo B (48 and 100), apo B replacement factors and esterases, such as one of the MASP-proteins, and functional equivalents thereof.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said modulator is selected from the group consisting of MBL-replacement factors and apo B replacement factors.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said modulator is administered by using a lipid carrier chosen from the group consisting of natural lipids, artificial lipids, synthetic lipids, mineral oil, natural oil, and processed mineral oil and natural oil, wherein said processed mineral oil and said natural oil is purified or modified.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein optimum oral immunization is achieved.
A method for diagnosing the underlying or related defect of a disease of the immune system, an infectious disease, an autoimmune disease, a neoplastic diseas, a hematological disease related to complement-mediated lipid metabolism, and an underlying or related disease comprising carrying out an assay for at least one element of the complement/lipid pathway.
A method for discovering pharmaceutical or nutritional formulations for the treatment, amelioration or prophylaxis of a disease of the immune system, an infectious disease, an autoimmune disease, a neoplastic disease, a hematological disease related to complement-mediated lipid metabolism, and an underlying or related disease comprising testing a disease for changes in a compliment/lipid pathway.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein modulators of the complement/lipid pathway are tested in said testing a disease for changes in a compliment/lipid pathway.
A composition for the treatment or prophylaxis of diseases associated with the complement/lipid pathway comprising at least one modulator capable of modulating the activity of one or more elements in said pathway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.