Jan. 29, 2001--Corixa Corporation (Nasdaq:CRXA - news), a research- and development-based biotechnology company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued the Company a patent covering certain compositions and methods for inducing an immune response using chemokine receptor peptides.
The novel compositions and methods claimed in U.S. Patent Number 6,171,590 cover the inhibition of inflammatory responses associated with autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, by vaccinating with specific chemokine receptor protein subunits.
Chemokines are a family of proteins that act as chemical messengers in the immune system to promote the recruitment and activation of leukocytes (cells that help the body fight disease) and lymphocytes. Chemokines regulate the trafficking of tissue reactive T cells by interacting with specific chemokine receptors expressed by these cells. By vaccinating against portions of the receptor, experiments in animal models have demonstrated that immune responses can be directed toward inhibiting the interaction of a given chemokine with its receptor, thereby reducing recruitment of auto-immune T-cells and inhibiting the disease process.
The patented method of inducing an immune response against a chemokine receptor molecule involves administering to a patient an adjuvant and an immunogenic chemokine receptor polypeptide from an extracellular region of a CXCR3 chemokine receptor molecule.
``The inhibition of chemokine receptor signaling via vaccination represents another novel means of developing a new class of potential therapies for the management of multiple autoimmune diseases,'' said Steven Gillis, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Corixa. ``While a variety of biological chemokine antagonists are being tested clinically, most of these molecules are passively administered antibodies that need to be given continually to mediate a biologically beneficial effect in autoimmune disease. Vaccination to promote a patient's own antibody and cell mediated immune responses has the potential of providing more effective and long-lasting therapeutic benefit.'' |
