Peptides tolerizing t-cells and compositions thereof

摘要

The present invention provides a tolerizing peptide and a therapeutic composition containing at least one such tolerizing peptide which when administered to an individual in a therapeutically effective amount is capable of tolerizing at least a portion and preferably all of the T cells of said individual which are specific for an antigen (e.g. an allergen, an autoantigen or a transplantation antigen), said tolerizing peptide having the ability to combine with MHC proteins on antigen presenting cells (APC) and cause binding of T cell receptors on at least a portion of the T cells of an individual to said peptide-MHC complex. Said tolerizing peptide preferably has the ability to cause no detectable or minimal proliferation of at least a portion of the T cells of an individual which are specific for said antigen when said peptide is administered in vivo in immunogenic form. The invention also provides a method for treating sensitivity to a particular antigen in an individual and a method for tolerizing at least a portion of a population of T cells in an individual which are specific for an antigen.