Curative therapies against autoimmune diseases are lacking. Indeed, most of the currently available treatments are only targeting symptoms. We have developed a novel strategy for a therapeutic vaccine Show more
Curative therapies against autoimmune diseases are lacking. Indeed, most of the currently available treatments are only targeting symptoms. We have developed a novel strategy for a therapeutic vaccine against autoimmune diseases based on intranasal administration of a fusion protein tolerogen, which consists of a mutant, enzymatically inactive, cholera toxin A1 (CTA1)-subunit genetically fused to disease-relevant high-affinity peptides and a dimer of D-fragments from protein A (DD). The CTA1 R7K mutant - myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), or proteolipid protein (PLP) - DD (CTA1R7K-MOG/PLP-DD) fusion proteins effectively reduced clinical symptoms in the experimental autoimmune encephalitis model of multiple sclerosis. The treatment induced Tr1 cells, in the draining lymph node, which produced interleukin (IL)-10 and suppressed effector clusters of differentiation 4 Show less