abstract |
The present invention is directed to an isolated and purified cyclic peptide of from 5 to about 13 residues modeled after a portion of the CS1 peptide. A peptide of this invention preferably has the amino acid residue sequence of SEQ ID NO:2-14 or 16-42. The present invention is further directed to a process of selectively inhibiting the binding of α4β1 integrin to a protein such as VCAM-1, fibronectin or invasin comprising exposing a cell that expresses α4β1 integrin to that protein in the presence of an effective inhibiting amount of such a peptide. The present invention is still further directed to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a physilogically acceptable carrier and a cyclic peptide of the invention. |