Use of modified cells for the treatment of multiple sclerosis

1. A chemically coupled cell which is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell erythrocyte that is chemically coupled to at least six peptides selected from the group consisting of: MBP 13-32 (SEQ ID NO:1), MBP 83-99 (SEQ ID NO:2), MBP 111-129 (SEQ ID NO:3), MBP 82-98 (SEQ ID NO:8), MBP 82-99 (SEQ ID NO:9), MBP 82-106 (SEQ ID NO:10), MBP 87-106 (SEQ ID NO:11), MBP 131-155 (SEQ ID NO:12), MBP 146-170 (SEQ ID NO:4), PLP 41-58 (SEQ ID NO:13),PLP 89-106 (SEQ ID NO:14),PLP 95-116 (SEQ ID NO:15), HCLGKWLGHPDKFVGI (SEQ ID NO:5), PLP 178-197 (SEQ ID NO:16), SKTSASIGSLCADARMYGVL (SEQ ID NO:17), MOG 1-20 (SEQ ID NO:6), MOG 11-30 (SEQ ID NO:18), MOG 21-40 (SEQ ID NO:19), MOG 35-55 (SEQ ID NO:7), and MOG 64-86 (SEQ ID NO:20), wherein MBP is myelin basic protein, PLP is proteolipid protein and MOG is myelin oligodendrocyte protein.

2. The chemically coupled cell according to claim 1 , which cell is a red blood cell (RBC).

3. The chemically coupled cell according to claim 1 , which cell is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC).

4. The chemically coupled cell according to claim 1 , wherein the peptides are chemically coupled by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (ECDI).

5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the chemically coupled cell according to claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

6. A medical product comprising one or more of the chemically coupled cells according to claim 1 and an anti-coagulant.

7. A chemically coupled cell which is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) that is chemically coupled to each peptide in a cocktail of peptides selected from the group consisting of cocktails e-h, j-kk, mm, and nn of tables 5.1-5.3.

8. The chemically coupled cell according to claim 7 , wherein one of the MBP peptides is a citrullinated MBP peptide.

9. A chemically coupled cell which is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) that is chemically coupled to each peptide in a cocktail of peptides selected from the group consisting of cocktails e-h, j-kk, mm, and nn of tables 5.1-5.3 with the proviso that at least one of the myelin basic protein (MBP) peptides has been replaced with the full-length MBP protein.

10. The chemically coupled cell according to claim 9 , wherein the full length MBP protein is the 18.5 kD isoform according to SEQ ID NO: 22.

11. A chemically coupled cell which is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) that is chemically coupled to each peptide in a cocktail of peptides selected from the group consisting of cocktails e-h, j-kk, mm, and nn with the proviso that at least one of the proteolipid protein (PLP) peptides has been replaced with the full-length PLP protein of SEQ ID NO: 21.

12. A chemically coupled cell which is a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) that is chemically coupled to each peptide in a cocktail of peptides selected from the group consisting of cocktails e-h, j-kk, mm, and nn with the proviso that at least one of the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptides has been replaced with the full-length MOG protein according to SEQ ID NO: 23.

13. A method for the treatment of an autoimmune inflammatory disease in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering into said subject a therapeutically effective amount of said chemically coupled cells according to claim 1 .

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the autoimmune inflammatory disease is multiple sclerosis (MS).

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the chemically coupled cells are allogenic cells relative to said subject.

16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the chemically coupled cells are autologous cells relative to said subject.

17. A process for the manufacture of a chemically coupled cell according to claim 1 , comprising

(a) contacting in the presence of a coupling agent (i) a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) with (ii) at least six peptides selected from the group consisting of: MBP 13-32 (SEQ ID NO:1), MBP 83-99 (SEQ ID NO:2), MBP 111-129 (SEQ ID NO:3), MBP 82-98 (SEQ ID NO:8), MBP 82-99 (SEQ ID NO:9), MBP 82-106 (SEQ ID NO:10), MBP 87-106 (SEQ ID NO:11), MBP 131-155 (SEQ ID NO:12), MBP 146-170 (SEQ ID NO:4), PLP 41-58 (SEQ ID NO:13), PLP 89-106 (SEQ ID NO:14), PLP 95-116 (SEQ ID NO:15), HCLGKWLGHPDKFVGI (SEQ ID NO:5), PLP 178-197 (SEQ ID NO:16), SKTSASIGSLCADARMYGVL (SEQ ID NO:17), MOG 1-20 (SEQ ID NO:6), MOG 11-30 (SEQ ID NO:18), MOG 21-40 (SEQ ID NO:19), MOG 35-55 (SEQ ID NO:7), and MOG 64-86 (SEQ ID NO:20), wherein MBP is myelin basic protein, PLP is proteolipid protein and MOG is myelin oligodendrocyte protein and

(b) carrying out a chemical reaction to couple the cell to each of the at least six peptides, thereby forming said chemically coupled cell.

18. The process according to claim 17 , wherein the coupling agent is 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (ECDI).

19. A process for the manufacture of a chemically coupled cell according to claim 7 , comprising

(a) contacting in the presence of a coupling agent (i) a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or a red blood cell (RBC) with (ii) at least one of said cocktail of peptides e-h, j-kk, mm, or nn of tables 5.1-5.3, and

(b) carrying out a chemical reaction to couple the cell to each of the peptides in the cocktail, thereby forming said chemically coupled cell.