Method for down-regulating osteoprotegerin ligand activity
AssigneeM&E Biotech A/S
InventorsTorben Halkier, Jesper Haaning
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Abstract
The invention provides a novel method for down-regulating the biological activity of osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL, TRANCE) thereby rendering possible the treatment/amelioration of diseases characterized by excessive loss of bone mass, e.g. osteoporosis. Down-regulation is effected by inducing an immune response against OPGL in an individual in need thereof. Immune responses can be raised by classical immunization with immunogenic variants of OPGL or by nucleic acid immunization where the nucleic acids encode the OPGL variant. The invention also pertains to compositions, polypeptides and nucleic acids useful in the invention, as well as to vectors and transformed host cells useful in the preparation thereof.
Claims19
A method for in vivo down-regulation of osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL) activity in an animal, the method comprising effecting presentation to the animal's immune system of an immunogenically effective amount of
- at least one OPGL polypeptide or analogue thereof which has as a result that immunization of the animal with the OPGL polypeptide or analogue thereof induces production of antibodies against the animal's own OPGL polypeptide which down-regulates the animal's own OPGL activity,
- wherein said OPGL polypeptide or analogue thereof comprises the sequence of residues 159-317 of SEQ ID NO. 2, or the sequence of residues 159-317 of SEQ ID NO. 2 wherein at least one foreign promiscuous, immunodominant T helper lymphocyte epitope (TH), is introduced in said residues 159-317.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.