| 摘要 |
A polypeptide present in normal human blood that interferes with the capacity of antigen presenting cells of the skin (Langerhans cells) to activate naive autologous T cells has been discovered and identified as the alpha-1 chain of the molecule haptoglobin. The haptoglobin alpha-1 chain is a selective inhibitor that acts only on antigen presenting cells and not on other cells of the immune system such as T lymphocytes. Therapeutic compositions containing human haptoglobin or its alpha-1 chain may be administered to a patient to interfere with Langerhans cells/dendritic cell-dependent activation of T cells and, therefore, to suppress T-cell dependent inflammation in vivo. Specific treatable inflammatory skin diseases include psoriasis, mycosis fungoidosis, atopic dermatitis, exfoliative dermatitis and Sezary's Syndrome. Other autoimmune, T cell dependent inflammations and infectious diseases would be treatable by the methods of the invention including prevention of transplant rejection (e.g. Graft Versus Host Disease), vaccine development, and therapy for infectious diseases where antigen presenting cells play a central role in the pathogenesis. |
