Evaluation and treatment of patients with progressive immunosuppression

US5583002A · kind A · utility

Assignees

• Regents of the University of Minnesota · US
• The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services · US

Inventors

• Augusto C. Ochoa · Windom, US
• Hiromoto Mizuguchi · Frederick, US
• John J. O'Shea · Silver Spring, US
• Dan L. Longo · Kensington, US
• Cynthia Loeffler · Bladensburg, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 11, 1992
• Grant date: Dec 10, 1996
• Expiry date: Dec 11, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61K2239/53
• WIPO field: Pharmaceuticals
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A soluble immunosuppressive factor present in serum derived from tumor-bearing mammals, is associated with changes in TCR protein subunit levels and T-lymphocyte signal transduction pathway proteins. These changes provide a method of determining the level of immunosuppression in a mammal by determining the level of expression of at least one selected TCR subunit protein, or a protein in the T lymphocyte signal transduction pathway, and comparing the level to that found in non-immunosuppressed individuals. The method is useful to identify patients having T lymphocytes capable of activation for immunotherapy and for identifying agents which cause or reverse immunosuppression. An isolated immunosuppressive factor associated with the level of expression of the proteins is useful for suppressing the immune response, for example, in organ transplantation.