USE OF ANTAGONIST ANTI-CD40 ANTIBODIES FOR TREATMENT OF AUTOIMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION

摘要

Methods of therapy for treating a subject for an autoimmune disease and/or inflammatory disease are provided. The methods comprise administering a therapeutically effective amount of an antagonist anti-CD40 antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof to a patient in need thereof. The antagonist anti-CD40 antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof is free of significant agonist activity, but exhibits antagonist activity when the antibody binds a CD40 antigen on a human CD40- expressing cell. Antagonist activity of the anti-CD40 antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof beneficially inhibits CD40L-mediated stimulation of CD40-expressing cells, and thus inhibits survival and signaling pathways of human CD40-expressing cells that are mediated by CD40L.