INHIBITION OF GLYCOGEN SYNTHASE KINASE AND METHODS OF TREATING AUTOIMMUNE OR IMMUNE INFLAMMATORY DISEASE

摘要

The present invention relates to the use of glycogen synthase kinase 3(GSK3) inhibitors, especially inhibitors of GSK-3a, GSK-3ß and GSK-3ß2, preferably, inhibitors of GSK-3ß, in patients having autoimmune diseases and/or immune dysfunction/dysregulation to induce immune tolerance. Inhibition of GSK leads to activation of a pathway of dendritic cell maturation which leads to a dendritic phenotype which attenuates, rather than induces, immune responses. The immune responses and mature dendritic cells produced by the method of the present invention redirect or attenuate the immune response in individuals, thus leading to effective therapies for a number of autoimmune diseases and/or diseases of immune dysfunction/dysregulation (immune inflammatory diseases), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), autoimmune diabetes (type I diabetes mellitus), asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, among numerous others.