INTRANASAL ADMINISTRATION OF RECEPTOR-BINDING LIGANDS OR GENES ENCODING SUCH LIGANDS AS A THERAPEUTIC REGIMEN FOR MITIGATING INFECTIONS CAUSED BY RESPIRATORY PATHOGENS

摘要

The present invention relates to a receptor-binding ligand either administered intranasally or expressed following intranasal administration from a recombinant vector that expresses at least one therapeutic ligand which binds to a receptor necessary for infection by a respiratory pathogen. The receptor-binding ligand in the respiratory tract not only confers rapid protection as a therapeutic drug but also elicits long-term protective immunity as a vaccine against a respiratory pathogen. This regimen is not compromised by the emergence of drug resistance because the receptor for any pathogen can be blocked by the pathogen's own receptor-binding ligand.