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US 7,405,279 B2Granted
Chimeric proteins for diagnosis and treatment of diabetes
AssigneeAlexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
InventorsYi Wang, John Mueller, Louis A. Matis
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AssigneeAlexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
InventorsYi Wang, John Mueller, Louis A. Matis
Estimating the term…
Novel chimeric fusion proteins comprising immunodominant epitopes of GAD and insulin are provided. Also provided are immunomodulatory methods for the use of such proteins for both the prevention and treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. The chimeric fusion proteins of the invention are useful in predicting risk of onset of Type 1 diabetes, determining prognosis of Type 1 diabetes patients early in disease progression, and in evaluating patients for suitability as recipients of transplants of pancreatic cells or tissues. The administration of the proteins of the invention in accordance with the immunomodulatory methods of the invention results in beneficial effects on disease development and severity in patients suffering from or predicted to be at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes, as well as on the outcome of transplants of pancreatic cells or tissues in Type 1 diabetes patients.
A chimeric fusion protein comprising an amino terminus and a carboxyl terminus, wherein the protein comprises insulin chain B, the first 7 amino acid residues of insulin chain C, and individual peptide moieties consisting of at least two glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 65 peptides capable of eliciting a human T cell response, wherein the insulin chain B, the insulin chain C, and the at least two human GAD 65 peptides are covalently linked and the chimeric fusion protein is capable of eliciting a human T cell response to insulin chain B and to each of the at least two GAD 65 peptides.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.