Complexes of alpha (2) macroglobulin and antigenic molecules for immunotherapy

1. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of a purified molecular complex effective for treatment of an infectious disease and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, said molecular complex comprising an alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, which comprises the alpha (2) macroglobulin receptor binding domain, said polypeptide noncovalently associated with an antigenic molecule which displays the antigenicity of an antigen of an infectious agent of the infectious disease, with the proviso that the infectious agent is other than hepatitis type B virus.

2. A purified molecular complex comprising an alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, comprising the alpha (2) macroglobulin receptor binding domain, said polypeptide noncovalently associated with an antigenic molecule that displays the antigenicity of an antigen of an infectious agent of the infectious disease, with the proviso that the infectious agent is other than hepatitis type B virus.

3. The purified molecular complex of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the antigenic molecule is an antigen of an infectious agent of the infectious disease.

4. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 comprising an amount of a purified molecular complex effective for treatment of an infectious disease, wherein the infectious disease is caused by a pathogen of adeno-associated virus, cytomegalovirus, papilloma virus, polyoma viruses, SV40, herpes simplex type I (HSV-I), herpes simplex type II (HSV-II), Epstein-Ban virus, variola (smallpox), vaccinia virus, human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-I), human immunodeficiency virus type II (HIV-II), human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II), influenza virus, measles virus, rabies virus, Sendai virus, poliomyelitis virus, coxsackieviruses, rhinoviruses, reoviruses, rubella virus (German measles), Semliki forest virus, arboviruses, hepatitis type A virus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoea, Neisseri meningitidis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium tetani, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella ozaenae, Klebsiella rhinoscleromotis, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Campylobacter (Vibrio) fetus, Campylobacterjejuni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus cereus, Edwardsiella tarda, Yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia pestis, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella typhiimurium, Salmonella typhii, Treponema pallidum, Treponema pertenue, Treponema carateneum, Borrelia vincentii, Borrelia burgdorferi, Leptospira icterohemorrhagiae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Toxoplasma gondii, Pneumocystis carinii, Francisella tularensis, Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, Brucella melitensis, Mycoplasma spp., Rickettsia prowazeki, Rickettsia tsutsugumushi, Chlamydia spp., Helicobacter pylori, Entomoeba histolytica, Trichomonas tenas, Trichomonas hominis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Trypanosoma gambiense, Trypanosoma rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani, Leishmania tropica, Leishmania braziliensis, Pneumocystis pneumonia, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, or Plasmodium malaria.

5. A purified population of molecular complexes which are at least 65% noncovalent complexes, each noncovalent complex comprising (i) an alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, which comprises the alpha (2) macroglobulin receptor binding domain, and (ii) an antigenic molecule that displays the antigenicity of an antigen of an infectious agent of the infectious disease, with the proviso that the infectious agent is other than hepatitis type B virus.

6. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 , further comprising one or more adjuvants.

7. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 6 , wherein the adjuvant is aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, calcium phosphate, lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil emulsions, keyhole limpet hemocyanins, and dinitrophenol, cytokines, saponins, muramyl dipeptides, tripeptide derivatives, CpG dinucleotides, CpG oligonucleotides, monophosphoryl Lipid A, polyphosphazenes, emulsions, liposomes, virosomes, cochleates, Freund's complete adjuvant, Freund's incomplete adjuvant, bacille Calmette-Guerin, or corynebacterium parvum.

8. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 , wherein said molecular complex consists essentially of (i) the alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, and (ii) the antigenic molecule.

9. The purified molecular complex of claim 2 , wherein said molecular complex consists essentially of (i) the alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, and (ii) the antigenic molecule.

10. The purified population of molecular complexes of claim 5 , wherein said noncovalent complexes consist essentially of (i) the alpha (2) macroglobulin polypeptide, and (ii) the antigenic molecule.