President and Fellows of Harvard College;Wyeth LLC;The Government of the United States of America as represented by The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
发明人:
申请号：
EP11182581.6
公开号：
EP2436695A1
申请日:
2006.04.13
申请国别(地区):
EP
年份:
2012
代理人:
摘要：
The present invention provides methods of screening for compositions useful for treating, ameliorating, or preventing fibrosis and/or fibrosis-associated conditions by measuring changes in the level(s) of IL-21 and/or IL-21 receptor (IL-21R) (e.g., the level of expression of IL-21 and/or IL-21 R protein and/or mRNA, the level of activity of IL-21 and/or IL-21R, the level of interaction of IL-21 with IL-21R). The invention further provides antagonists of IL-21 or IL-21R for the treatment of fibrosis and/or fibrosis-associated conditions. Further provided herein are methods of diagnosing, prognosing, and monitoring the progress (e.g., the course of treatment) of fibrosis and/or fibrosis-associated conditions by measuring the level of IL-21 and/or IL-21R (i.e., the level of activity of IL-21 and/or IL-21R, the level of expression of IL-21 and/or IL-21R (e.g., the level of IL-21 and/or IL-21 R gene products), and/or the level of interaction of IL-21 with IL-21R).
