US 5,637,454 A · Assays and treatments of autoimmune diseases

Abstract

A specific method has been developed to identify the etiologic or immunogenic agent responsible for the production of autoantibodies characteristic of a particular disorder or immune response. The antigen is first isolated, then divided into overlapping short amino acid sequences. The sequences having the greatest reactivity with the autoantibodies are identified and compared with all known amino acids sequences using the available computer data bases. The protein having the maximum number of sequences homologous to the sequences of greatest reactivity with the autoantibodies is the likeliest candidate for the etiological agent. Applying this method, it has been determined that the etiological agent for the production of anti-Ro/SSA autoantibodies characteristic of numerous autoimmune diseases such as SLE appears to be a virus highly homologous to the Indiana strain of the vesicular stomatitis virus. Once the etiologic agent and antigenic sequences are known, it is possible to design assays and reagents for the diagnosis and treatment of patients having either the etiological agent and/or autoantibodies. An animal model has been developed for studying the mechanisms of, and screening compounds for the treatment or prevention of, the expression of these autoantibodies.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method for determining a potential immunogenic agent in a disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies or autoantigen-specific T cell receptors comprising:

identifying a self-antigen bound by a population of autoantibodies or autoantigen-specific T cell receptors present in a patient having the disease;
identifying amino acid sequences of the self-antigen immunoreactive with the autoantibodies or autoantigen-specific T cell receptors;
comparing the self-antigen amino acid sequences with amino acid sequences of potential immunogenic agents to identify potential immunogenic agents as proteins containing two or more regions of sequence homologous with the self-antigen;
determining the potential immunogenic agents having two or more regions of sequence homology which are immunoreactive with the autoantibodies or autoantigen-specific T cell receptors;
and
determining that the extent of correlation of the two or more regions of sequence in a first potential immunogenic agent with the regions of sequence of the self-antigen is statistically significant as compared with the extent of correlation between the regions of sequence of the self-antigen and two or more regions of sequence of a second potential immunogenic agent having sequence homology and that it is therefore likely that the first potential immunogenic agent induces the production of the autoantibodies or autoantigen specific T-cell receptors.

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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Assays and treatments of autoimmune diseases

Life of this patent

Assays and treatments of autoimmune diseases

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11