GENE THERAPY COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING AND/OR TREATING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

摘要

The invention relates to gene therapy compositions for preventing and/or treating autoimmune diseases. The present invention relates to vectors, preferably plasmids including specific promoters, which encode the growth factor similar to insulin 1 (IGF-I) or a biologically functional equivalent thereof, which can be used for preventing or treating Type-1 Diabetes (IDDM) and/or other autoimmune diseases. Further, the invention includes the method for preventing or treating IDDM by means of the expression of IGF-I, or a biologically functional equivalent thereof, in hepatic cells. IGF-I was capable of interrupting the immune attack against pancreatic ß-cells, avoiding ß-cell mass loss and therefore maintaining the circulation of insulin at normal levels.