Claims
- 1. A method of modulating an immune response in a mammal, comprising:
identifying a mammal that has or is at risk for having a bladder disorder; and administering an isolated nucleic acid comprising an unmethylated CpG sequence to the mammal, to thereby modulate an immune response in the mammal.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is delivered to the bladder of the mammal.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the nucleic acid is delivered to the bladder by instillation.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid does not encode a naturally occurring polypeptide.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is contained within a plasmid.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid is delivered by microparticles.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the microparticle comprises a synthetic polymer.
- 8. The method of claim 8, wherein the microparticle comprises a synthetic polymer.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the mammal has a bladder disorder that is characterized by inflammation.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the inflammation is associated with symptoms of interstitial cystitis.
- 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the inflammation is associated with a disruption of the integrity of the bladder lining.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein a bacterial infection of the bladder of the mammal is not detected at the time of the administration of the nucleic acid.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the mammal has bladder cancer.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid further comprises a sequence encoding α-MSH.
- 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising administering a second isolated nucleic acid to the mammal, wherein the second isolated nucleic acid encodes α-MSH.
- 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the mammal has a bladder disorder, and wherein administering the isolated nucleic acid results in an amelioration of one or more symptoms of the disorder.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bladder disorder is bladder cancer and wherein administering the isolated nucleic acid results in a decrease in tumor size or activity.
- 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the bladder disorder is interstitial cystitis and wherein administering the isolated nucleic acid results in a modulation of the immune response from a Th2 response to a Th1 response.
- 19. A method of modulating an immune response in a mammal, comprising:
identifying a mammal that has or is at risk for having a bladder disorder; and administering an isolated nucleic acid comprising a sequence encoding α-MSH to the mammal, to thereby modulate an immune response in the mammal.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the nucleic acid is contained within a plasmid.
- 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the nucleic acid is contained within a microparticle.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the microparticle comprises a synthetic polymer.
- 23. The method of claim 19, wherein the nucleic acid is delivered by a microparticle.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the microparticle comprises a synthetic polymer.
- 25. The method of claim 19, wherein the mammal has a bladder disorder that is characterized by an inflammation of the bladder.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the inflammation is associated with symptoms of interstitial cystitis.
- 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the inflammation is associated with a disruption of the integrity of the bladder lining.
- 28. The method of claim 19, wherein a bacterial infection of the bladder of the mammal is not detected at the time of the administration of the nucleic acid.
- 29. The method of claim 19, wherein the mammal has bladder cancer.
- 30. An isolated nucleic acid comprising an unmethylated CpG sequence and a sequence encoding α-MSH, wherein the unmethylated CpG sequence comprises an immunostimulatory sequence.
- 31. A method of modulating an immune response in a mammal, comprising:
identifying a mammal that has or is at risk for having a bladder disorder; and administering a peptide that binds to a melanocortin receptor to the mammal, to thereby modulate an immune response in the mammal.
- 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the peptide is an α-MSH peptide.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/268,175, filed Feb. 12, 2001, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60268175 |
Feb 2001 |
US |