IL-17 receptor-like protein, uses thereof, and modulation of catabolic activity of il-17 cytokines on bone and cartilage

摘要

This invention relates, first, to the discovery of IL-17RL, a receptor for members of the IL-17 cytokine family, particularly IL-17B. IL-17RL is naturally expressed from a 19-exon gene as a 720 amino acid protein and as any of 11 splice variants created from differential splicing of the 19 exons. The invention further relates to the discovery that IL-17B is involved in catabolic degradation of bone and cartilage and that bone and cartilage disorders can be ameliorated by pharmacological manipulation of IL-17B by antibodies or by using IL-17RL as a decoy to reduce IL-17B related catabolic activity. Methods for diagnosing cartilage disorders, and pharmaceutical compositions for slowing or ameliorating bone and cartilage pathologies are also provided.