IMMUNOMODULATORY PEPTIDES DERIVED FROM HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS AND USES THEREOF

摘要

A method of modulating an immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering an immunogenic peptide portion of dnaJ heat shock protein (hsp) to the subject, thereby modulating an immune response in the subject. The invnetion is based on the discovery that an effective therapeutic strategy for ameliorating the inflammation related symptoms of an immune-mediated disease, such as arthritis, can be achieved by modulation of the underlying immune response itself, rather than by merely addressing the resulting inflammation. This strategy can be used to regulate the inflammatory response and is applicable to a variety of contexts in which immune modulation is desired, such as mucosal tolerization, DNA vaccination, a energy induction, active immunization, and ex vivo modulation of antigen-specific T cells. In one embodiment, the method comprises administering to the subject a bacterial dnaJ peptide or a human homolog or a non-homologous human isoform thereof.