Induction of TNF-alpha autoantibody production by AutoVac TNF106: a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of allergic diseases.

Background: Cytokines play an integral role in the coordination and persistence of allergic inflammatory processes and therefore represent prime targets for novel therapies in diseases such as asthma. Multiple attempts to generate low-molecular-weight cytokine inhibitors have failed, and the main attention has focused on the development of biological agents such as neutralizing antibodies. The present work describes a simple and effective method to induce the production of therapeutic anti-cytokine autoantibodies by active immunization against a modified endogenous cytokine.

Long-term protective and antigen-specific effect of heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae in a murine model of allergic pulmonary inflammation.

This report examines the effect of heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae in a mouse model of allergic pulmonary inflammation. The s.c.