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OwnerJames E. Rothman, F. Ulrich Hartl +4inventors
InventorsJames E. Rothman, F. Ulrich Hartl, Mee H. Hoe, Alan Houghton, Yoshizumi Takeuchi, Mark Mayhew
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Administration of expressible polynucleotides encoding eukaryotic heat shock proteins to mammalian cells leads to the stimulation of an immune response to antigens present in those cells. This makes it possible to stimulate an immune response to target antigens, including target tumor antigens or antigens associated with an infectious disease, without having to isolate a unique antigen or antigen-associated heat shock protein for each target antigen by administering to a mammalian subject or to a group of mammalian cells containing the antigen, an expressible polynucleotide encoding a heat shock protein. The expressed heat shock protein may have the same structure as native heat shock proteins, or may have a modified form adapted to control the trafficking of the expressed heat shock protein within the cells.
A method for stimulating a therapeutic immune response in a subject in need of such treatment, comprising the step of introducing to the subject, or to a target group of cells from the subject, an expressible polynucleotide encoding a eukaryotic heat shock protein.
A method for stimulating a prophylactic immune response against recurrence of a disease from which a subject is suffering, comprising administering to the subject, or to a target group of cells from the subject harboring an antigen associated with the disease, an expressible polynucleotide encoding a eukaryotic heat shock protein.
A recombinant vector comprising
A method for stimulating an immune response to an antigen present in a target group of mammalian cells, comprising administering to the target group of cells an expressible polynucleotide, wherein expression of the polynucleotide is effective to increase the amount of antigen-associated heat shock protein present in the cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.