Uteroglobin in the treatment of IgA mediated autoimmune disorders

摘要

Uteroglobin has been discovered to prevent IgA mediated diseases, such as IgA nephropathy, by preventing the deposition of IgA-Fibronectin immunocomplexes in tissues such as the renal glomeruli. The invention therefore includes methods of treating such diseases by administering therapeutically effective amounts of uteroglobin (and variants or mimetics) to prevent or improve the IgA mediated condition. Transgenic uteroglobin knockout animals, and animals in which uteroglobin-protein expression is reduced by antisense technology, also provide systems for studying IgA mediated diseases, and screening for appropriate treatments.