The invention relates to an isolated immunoglobulin heavy chain polypeptide and an isolated immunoglobulin light chain polypeptide that bind to a programmed death-1 (PD-1) protein. The invention provides a PD-1-binding agent that comprises the aforementioned immunoglobulin heavy chain polypeptide and immunoglobulin light chain polypeptide. The invention also provides related vectors, compositions, and methods of using the PD-1-binding agent to treat a cancer or an infectious disease.