Professor Michael Sela The W. Garfield Weston Professor of Immunology

 Research Interests:

Myasthenia Gravis, Multiple Sclerosis and Antibodies to ErbB Receptors

A peptide composed of analogs to two myasthenogenic T cell epitopes is capable of immunomodulating in vitro and in vivo autoimmune T-cell responses and to reverse experimental MG in mice, even when it is induced by the complete acetylcholine receptor of the Torpedo fish and given orally. This is due to T-cell receptor antagonism. The altered peptide inhibits the activities of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and phospholipase c and inhibits T-cell interaction with VCAM-1 induced in vivo by a myasthenogenic T cell epitope. Phase I clinical trial is in the planning (with Prof. Edna Mozes¹).

Cop 1, the synthetic copolymer developed in our laboratory, is clinically beneficial in multiple sclerosis (MS). Secretion of Th₂ cytokines after exposure to either Cop 1 or MBP lends support to the "bystander" suppression by Cop 1 of EAE. Oral administration of Cop 1 suppresses efficiently EAE. Specific ThTh₂ cells accumulate in the central nervous system of mice protected against EAE by Cop 1 (with Prof. Ruth Arnon²).

ErbB-2 is an orphan receptor that belongs to tyrosine kinase receptors for either epidermal growth factor (EGF) or Neu differentiation factor (NDF). One group of tumor-inhibitory mAbs inhibited binding of NDF and EGF to their direct receptors, due to acceleration of ligand dissociation. Antibody-induced therapy may be due to the blocking of heterodimerization between ErbB-2 and growth factor receptors. c-Cbl is a suppressor of the Neu oncogene (with Prof. Yossi Yarden³).

¹with Prof. Mozes: Dr. Miri Paaz-Rozner, Dr. Jianping Liu, Dr. Molly Dayan.

²with Prof. Arnon: Dr. Dvora Teitelbaum, Dr. Rina Aharoni, Ada Veksler.

³with Prof. Yarden: Dr. Bilha Schechter, Lilach Friedman).

 List of Publications (last 3 years)

 Complete List of Publications