TESTING INDIVIDUAL IMMUNE RESPONSE TO AN ANTIBODY WITH SCID MOUSE

摘要

This patent application concerns a method for testing a patient's (P) individual immune response to an antibody 'X' or binding fragment thereof which is specific for an epitope of a mediator of the patient's immune response against an antigen 'Z' which method comprises the steps of: (i) isolating a sample of peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) from the patient; (ii) engrafting a mouse having severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) with said sample in order to create a p-PBL-SCID test mouse having PBLs of the patient; (iii) treating said test mouse with a tolerogen designed for administration to the patient so as to reduce the patient's immune response to antibody 'X'; (iv) after step (iii) immunising said test mouse with antibody 'X'; (v) after (iii) and (iv) detecting any human antibody response in said test mouse; wherein the tolerogen comprises a water-soluble covalent conjugate of an antibody 'Y' with one or more non-immunogenic water soluble polymers and wherein said antibody 'Y' although different from antibody 'X' has structure in common with it.