Compositions and methods of treating an inflammatory disease in a subject are provided. Accordingly there is provided a method comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of an agent which selectively inhibits activity and/or expression of iron regulatory protein (IRP) 1 and not IRP2, thereby treating the inflammatory disease in the subject. Also provided is a pharmaceutical composition comprising, as an active ingredient, an agent which selectively inhibits activity and/or expression of IRP1 and not IRP2, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. Also provided are methods of identifying an agent that selectively modulates an activity of an IRP member of an IRP family of polypeptides and not of an additional IRP member of said IRP family of polypeptides.
