Evaluation and treatment of patients with progressive immunosuppression

US5889143A · kind A · utility

Assignee

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

Inventors

• Augusto C. Ochoa · Windom, US
• Dan L. Longo · Kensington, US
• Paritosh Ghosh · Frederick, US
• Howard A. Young · Gaithersburg, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 16, 1996
• Grant date: Mar 30, 1999
• Expiry date: Sep 16, 2016

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61K39/00
• 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, 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, a protein in the T lymphocyte signal transduction pathway, or of the NF-.kappa.B/rel family and comparing the level and pattern 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.