The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Limited

Ilexus Pty Limited

Other

Ian F C McKenzie

Geoffrey Alan Pietersz

Vasso Apostolopoulos

Thomas P J Garrett

P Mark Hogarth

Maree S Powell

Kelly F Maxwell

Vidana Epa

Robert J Desnick

Jonathan Bayldon Baell

Barry Ross Matthews

Mauro Sergio Sandrin

Thomas D McCarthy

The present invention relates to a method of eliciting a cytotoxic T lymphocyte response to an antigen in an animal, the method comprising pulsing mannose receptor-bearing antigen presenting cells in vitro or ex vivo with a conjugate comprising an antigen and a carbohydrate polymer comprising mannose, wherein said carbohydrate polymer is a fully oxidized carbohydrate polymer comprising free aldehydes; and administering the pulsed antigen presenting cells to an animal.

Compositions for immunotherapy and uses thereof

The present invention relates to an immunogenic composition comprising a conjugate between an antigen and an oxidized mannan comprising mannose units and aldehyde groups, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

This invention relates to a method of inhibiting Fc receptor binding of immunoglobulin including the use of a Fc receptor modulating compound which binds to defined surfaces on a Fc receptor. The present invention also relates to a method for treating a variety of diseases using a Fc receptor modulating compound.

Fc receptor modulators and uses thereof

Disclosed are crystals, crystal structure Fc&ggr;RIIa protein, three dimensional coordinates of Fc&ggr;RIIa protein, and structures and models derived from the Fc&ggr;RIIa structure. Also disclosed are crystals of Fc&egr;RI protein and three dimensional coordinates of Fc&egr;RI protein monomers and dimers derived from the Fc&ggr;RIIa structure. Also disclosed are three dimensional coordinates of Fc&ggr;RIIIb proteins and models of Fc&ggr;RIIIb derived from the Fc&ggr;RIIa structure. The present invention also includes methods to produce such crystals, crystal structures and models. Uses of such crystals, crystal structures and models are also disclosed, including structure based drug design and therapeutic compositions.

Structure-based identification of candidate compounds using three dimensional structures and models of Fc receptors

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the reduction of xenotransplantation rejection. Specifically, the present invention relates, first, to transgenic cells, tissues, organs and animals containing transgenic nucleic acid molecules that direct the expression of gene products, including, but not limited to enzymes, capable of modifying, either directly or indirectly, cell surface carbohydrate epitopes such that the carbohydrate epitopes are no longer recognized by natural human antibodies or by the human cell-mediated immune response, thereby reducing the human immune system response elicited by the presence of such carbohydrate epitopes. In a preferred embodiment, the transgenic cells, tissues, organs and animals express nucleic acid molecules encoding functional recombinant &agr;-Galactosidase A (&agr;GalA) enzyme which modifies the carbohydrate epitope Gal&agr;(1,3)Gal. In a more preferred embodiment, the transgenic cells, tissues, organs and animals expressing the functional recombinant &agr;GalA are transgenic pig cells, organs, tissues and/or animals. Second, the present invention relates to methods for xenotransplantation comprising introducing the transgenic cells, tissues and/or organs into human recipients so that a lower level of hyperacute rejection (HAR) is observed in the human recipients relative to the level of HAR observed in human recipients having received non-transgenic cells, tissues and/or organs.

Cells expressing an &agr;gala nucleic acid and methods of xenotransplantation

Growing community of inventors

Brunswick, Australia

Ian F C McKenzie