| 摘要 |
The present invention provides use of a peptide or ligand in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of certain inflammatory diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract, such as coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis etc., and a method of treatment of the diseases comprising administering an effective dose of a medicament comprising the peptide or ligand. The peptide has not more than 20 amino acid residues, and comprises a thiol-active cysteine residue and at least two positively charged amino acid residues situated at, adjacent or near to the N terminus or at, adjacent or near to the C terminus or at, adjacent or near to both termini; or this peptide and a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent or carrier. Preferably the peptide or analog comprises amino acid residues having a sequence selected from the group which comprises: Cys-Lys-Lys, His-Cys-Lys-Lys (SEQ ID NO:1). Also, the invention can provide a method of treatment of IDGIT comprising administering an effective dose of a peptide or analogue thereof having general formula (I) wherein m is 0 or 1, n is 0 or 1 and m + n is 1 or 2; J<1> and J<2> represent sequences of positively charged amino acid residues; Z<1>, Z<2>, B<1> and B<2> represent sequences of residues of positively charged, negatively charged or neutral amino acid residues or sequences of any mixture of positively charged, negatively charged or neutral amino acid residues; x = 0 or 1, y = 0 or 1, and x + y = 1 or 2; c = 0 to 4, d = 0 to 4; and a = 0 to 18 and b = 0 to 18 with the proviso that when m = 0 at least one of B<2> and Z<2> is a positively charged amino acid residue and when n is 0 at least one of B<1> and Z<1> is a positively charged amino acid residue, and when m = n = 1 and y is 0 at least one of Z<1>, B<1>, B<2> and Z<2> is a positively charged amino acid residue and when m = n = 1 and x = 0 at least one of Z<1>, B<1>, B<2> and Z<2> is a positively charged amino acid residue: B<1> and B<2> may also represent a non-peptide spacer arm of a length equivalent to that determined by the length of b and c residues of amino acids. |
