title: Bypass of carrier-induced epitope-specific suppression using a T-helper epitope.
abstract: A gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-based vaccine is being developed as a method for non-surgical immunotherapy as immunization with this vaccine results in atrophy of the prostate. This vaccine, a conjugate of GnRH and diphtheria toxoid (DT), provides a unique hapten-carrier system for investigating the influence of carrier presensitization on antibody responses to self haptens. In a recent communication we showed that preimmunization with carriers diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid results in a strain-dependent inhibition of anti-GnRH responses in mice and that T cells from carrier-presensitized mice are responsible for anti-haptenic suppression. In the present report we describe a strategy for bypassing DT-induced epitopic suppression using a T-helper epitope from DT.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sad
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Talwar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raghupathy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000276:immunology; D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000276:immunology*; D006241:Haptens / Q000276:immunology; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid; D000939:Epitopes; D006241:Haptens; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D014612:Vaccines; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone