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Abstract

It has been discovered that HLA-G dimers are potent ligands of ILT2 and ILT4 on immune cells and enhance signal transduction through ILT2 and ILT4. Enhanced signal transduction through ILT-2, ILT-4 or both down-regulates the biological activity of T cells and dendritic cells. HLA-G compositions including HLA-G dimers are provided that are useful for modulating activity of immune cells. Preferred compositions include microparticles having HLA-G dimers on the surface of the microparticles. The microparticles optionally include a targeting moiety to target the microparticles to specific immune cells. In a preferred embodiment the microparticles are targeted to T cells or dendritic cells expressing ILT2 or both ILT2 and ILT4, respectively. The HLA-G dimer can include any HLA-G protein that is capable of forming a dimer. Preferred HLA-G proteins include HLA-G1 and HLA-G5. In certain embodiments the microparticles include dimers of HLA-G1 and HLA-G5.

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First Claim