PEPTIDE ANALOGUES OF MYELIN BASIC PROTEIN EPITOPES IN THE TREATMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS (EAE) AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

摘要

This invention relates to novel linear and cyclic peptide analogues of Myelin Basic Protein epitopes (from guinea pig MBP72-85 and human MBP87-99) and their conjugates with mannan and/or KLH useful in the treatment of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). For the first time cyclic analogues of MBP epitopes have been synthesized and shown to prevent the development of EAE. There is gathering evidence that analogues of disease-associated epitopes can be conjugated to mannan and/or KLH and actively generate antigen specific regulatory CD4/CD8 T cells and Th1/Th2 cytokines.