Methods of identifying anti-inflammatory compounds

A method of identifying a test compound useful to activate or suppress anti-inflammatory activity associated with IgG autoantibody-mediated inflammation, which comprises:

• (a) providing DC-SIGN(+) cells;
• (b) exposing the DC-SIGN(+) cells to a test compound;
• and,
• (c) measuring the increase or decrease in a cellular component within the DC-SIGN(+) cells as compared to DC-SIGN(−) cells or DC-SIGN(+) cells not exposed to the test compound, wherein an increase or decrease of the cellular component is know to be related to modulation of a DC-SIGN receptor type.

A method of identifying a test compound useful to activate or suppress anti-inflammatory activity associated with IgG autoantibody-mediated inflammation, which comprises:

• a) providing an amino acid sequence comprising a DC-SIGN receptor type or fragment containing at least a lectin domain;
• b) contacting the receptor or fragment of step a) with the test compound;
• and,
• c) measuring the extent of binding of the test compound to the lectin domain.

A method of identifying a test compound useful to activate or suppress anti-inflammatory activity associated with IgG autoantibody-mediated inflammation, which comprises:

• a) providing a first amino acid sequence comprising a lectin domain of a DC-SIGN receptor type;
• b) contacting the lectin domain of step a) with a control antibody or variant thereof;
• c) measuring the extent of binding of the control antibody to the lectin domain so as to determine a baseline binding value;
• d) providing a second amino acid sequence comprising a lectin domain of a DC-SIGN receptor type;
• e) contacting the lectin domain of step d) with the test compound;
• f) measuring the extent of binding of the test compound to the lectin domain;
• and,
• g) comparing the baseline binding value of step c) with the extent of binding of the test compound measured in step f).