NEW RECOMBINANT PROTEIN WITH ANTITIVIRAL EFFECT

Description

The development of highly effective broad-spectrum antiviral agents is a primary goal shared by the fields of virology and pharmacology. Viruses are intracellular parasites that use the metabolic machinery of the infected host cell. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve adequate antiviral activity without affecting the metabolism of the host cell and without causing negative effects on other uninfected cells of the body. Current strategies for the control of viral infectivity are based on the identification of agents capable of intervening in the essential steps of viral infection. Another strategy would be aimed at modulating the cellular defense system. Interferons are proteins naturally produced by the immune system and known for their antiviral activity. Specifically, IFNß exerts its biological activity through interaction with the IFNAR surface receptor formed by two subunits, IFNAR1 and IFNAR2. In this invention, the effect of a recombinant sIFNAR2 protein has been verified, proposing its use in infection as an antiviral treatment. Furthermore, the use of antibodies or fragments thereof capable of binding to the recombinant protein of the invention are also the object of the present invention.

Advantages

The use of this recombinant protein constitutes a new strategy in the prevention and / or treatment of diseases caused by viruses. Antibodies or fragments thereof against this protein also constitute a therapy for the prevention, control, treatment and / or alleviation of a viral disease. These antibodies can be easily obtained from antisera by standard procedure.

Uses and Applications

The present invention is within the field of biomedicine and biotechnology, and relates to the use of the isolated soluble IFNAR2.3 receptor, produced recombinantly, in the prevention, control, treatment and / or alleviation of a viral disease.