Columbia University

Avotres, Inc.

National Institutes of Health (nih)

Hong Jiang

Leonard Chess

The present invention provides a composition comprising dendritic cells loaded with hHsp60sp, which dendritic cells are from a subject and have been fixed with paraformaldehyde (PFA). The subject may suffer from an autoimmune disease. Also provided are a method for preparing the composition; recombinant human cells comprising a heterologous gene encoding a fusion protein of HLA-E and hHsp60sp or B7sp, and expressing the fusion protein on the surface of the cells; a method for determining a percentage of maximum inhibition of testing the function of the HLA-E restricted CD8+ Treg cells from a subject, determining whether HLA-E restricted CD8+ Treg cells freshly isolated from a subject are defective, or determining whether defective HLA-E restricted CD8+ Treg cells from a subject are correctable; and a method for correcting defective HLA-E restricted CD8+ Treg cells, treating type 1 diabetes (T1D), or treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

Method for treating multiple sclerosis with peptide-loaded dendritic cells

Method for treating type I diabetes with peptide-loaded dendritic cells

Detection of a defect on HLA-E restricted CD8+ T regulatory cells

A method is provided for preventing rejection by an immune system of a recipient subject of a tissue transplanted from a donor subject into the recipient subject without the need for long-term administration of non-specific immunosuppressive drugs.

Methods of preventing rejection of transplanted tissue by administering anti-CD40L antibody and HLA-E-bearing composition

Methods are provided for inhibiting or enhancing down-regulation of an antigen-activated HLA-ET cell by an HLA-E-restricted CD8T cell comprising contacting the HLA-ET cell and CD8T cell with an agent which inhibits or enhances, respectively, binding between (i) T cell receptor (TCR) on the surface of the CD8T cell and (ii) a self peptide presented by HLA-E on the surface of the HLA-ET cell, thereby inhibiting or enhancing, respectively, down-regulation of the antigen-activated HLA-ET cell. Compositions comprising agents which inhibit or enhance/activate, respectively, binding between (i) T cell receptor (TCR) on the surface of a CD8T cell and (ii) a self peptide presented by HLA-E on the surface of a HLA-ET cell, and assays for identifying such agents, are provided.

Methods to activate or block the HLA-E/Qa-1 restricted CD8+ T cell regulatory pathway to treat immunological disease

Methods of preventing rejection of transplanted tissue by administering anti-CD40L antibody and dendritic cells loaded with type B peptide

Methods of preventing rejection of transplanted tissue by administering anti-CD40L antibody and dendritic cells loaded with Hsp60sp peptide

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Fort Lee, NJ, United States of America

Hong Jiang