| abstract |
The present invention provides peptides having T cell stimulating activity termed recombitope peptides. Recombitope peptides of the invention preferably comprise at least two T cell epitopes derived from the same or from different protein antigens, and preferably comprise at least two regions, each region preferably having human T cell stimulating activity and each region comprising at least one T cell epitope derived from a protein antigen. Recombitope peptides of the invention can be derived from protein allergens, autoantigens, or other protein antigens. The invention also provides methods of diagnosing sensitivity to a protein allergen or other protein antigen in an individual, methods to treat such sensitivity and therapeutic compositions comprising one or more recombitope peptides. The invention further provides methods for designing recombitope peptides of the invention where the protein antigen to which the individual is sensitive has unknown or ill-defined T cell epitopes. |