CYTOTOXIC POLYPEPTIDE (FRAGMENT) DERIVED FROM RIBONUCLEASE

摘要

The invention relates to the field of immune suppression, cytostatic and cytocidal agents and apoptosis by biological immunosuppressive agents. Immunosuppressive therapy is widely applied in the treatment of a varied array of diseases or conditions. The invention provides a polypeptide or fragment thereof, derived from a protein related to the superfamily of ribonucleases, said polypeptide devoid of its specific RNase activity and capable of having an immunosuppressive, cytostatic and/or cytocidal effect. The invention further provides a polypeptide or fragment thereof, capable of having apoptotic effect on lymphocytes, said polypeptide derived from a virus protein.