HK1214769B - Mimotopes of alpha-synuclein and vaccines thereof for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders - Google Patents

Description

Mimotopes of alpha-synuclein and vaccines thereof for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

The application is based on the application date of 2009-2-23, the priority date of 2008-2-22, the application number of 200980105866.6 (PCT/AT 2009/000071), and the invention name is as follows: the divisional application of the patent application of "mimotopes of α -synuclein and vaccines thereof for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases".

The present invention relates to a medicament to be used for the prevention and/or treatment of synucleinopathic diseases (synucleinopathic).

Synucleinopathies are a group of different neurodegenerative diseases with the following common pathological features: characteristic lesions containing abnormal alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) protein accumulation in selected populations of neurons and glial cells can be detected in neuropathological examinations. Alpha-syn (originally identified as PARK1 and PARK 4) is a 140 amino acid protein that is widely expressed in the neocortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus, olfactory bulb, striatum, thalamus and cerebellum. Alpha-syn is also highly expressed in hematopoietic cells, including B-, T-and NK cells, as well as monocytes and platelets. The exact role in these cells is not known, but it has been found to be involved in the differentiation of megakaryocytes (precursors of platelets).

The most common synucleinopathies include, but are not limited to, lewy Body Disorders (LBD), such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) or neurodegeneration with Brain Iron aggregation Type I (Brain Iron Accumulation Type I, NBIA Type 1). Current treatments for these diseases include symptomatic drugs such as L-dopa, anticholinergics, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. However, all current therapeutic approaches only lead to symptomatic relief and do not induce long-lasting disease-modifying effects in patients.

Lewy body disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia (bradykinesia), and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. In the case of DLB and PDD, symptoms also include cognitive impairment. Up to 2% of the population above the age of 60 years in western countries develop typical symptoms of PD/LPD. Currently, there are only symptomatic treatments. Unfortunately, these therapies provide only temporary relief from early symptoms and fail to halt the progression of the disease.

The pathogenesis of PD/LBD is still not fully understood, but it appears that the development of the disease involves genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Despite all advances in genetics, PD/LBD remains primarily an sporadic disorder of unknown cause (also known as idiopathic PD/LPD). Patients suffering from this disease develop a characteristic ubiquitinated intracellular inclusion (inclusion) called Lewy Body (LB) in the cortical and subcortical regions of the brain. This type of pathology is shown especially in regions with high dopaminergic neurons or nerve projections (neural projections).

Recently, several studies have shown that synaptoprotein a-syn plays a central role in the pathogenesis of LBD. In LBD, alpha-syn accumulates in LB throughout the affected brain region. Furthermore, it can be shown that single point mutations (single point mutation) as well as double or multiple proliferation (duplication) in alpha-syn are associated with a rare familial parkinson syndrome. Importantly, based on the results of overexpression studies from transgenic (tg) mice as well as Drosophila (Drosophila melanogaster), the key role in PD/LBD pathogenesis is understood, as these animal models mimic several features of PD.

Another synucleinopathic disease of great importance is Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). MSA is an idiopathic neurodegenerative disease characterized by L-DOPA-resistant Parkinson's syndrome, cerebellar ataxia, and familial autonomic abnormal symptoms. Patients suffer from multiple system neuronal loss (neural loss) affecting different brain regions, including the striatum, substantia nigra, cerebellum, pons, and inferior olives and spinal cord. MSA is characterized by α -syn-positive Glial Cytoplasmic Inclusion (GCI) and rare neuronal inclusion throughout the central nervous system. These inclusions are associated with striatal degeneration (striatonigral degeneration), olivopontocerebellar atrophy, and involve the autonomic nuclei in the medulla oblongata and spinal cord. The importance of GCI for the pathogenesis of MSA has been widely accepted and is particularly important due to recent analysis of transgenic mouse models that analyze the role of α -syn overexpression in oligodendrocytes. In tg mice overexpressing human alpha-syn, biochemical markers like GCI aggregates and MSA were observed.

Although the exact mechanism by which α -syn accumulation leads to the typical features of neurodegeneration in synucleinopathies, as well as the characteristic symptoms of synucleinopathies, is not fully understood, recent studies suggest that abnormal formation and accumulation of α -syn oligomers are involved in the fundamental degenerative processes in synucleinopathies. It is now believed that the above described oligomer formation, for example, in the overhanging ends and axons, plays an important role in PD/LBD development. Thus reducing the deposition and oligomerization of alpha-syn would be advantageous for the treatment of synucleinopathies, especially idiopathic LBD/PD and MSA, and may provide for the first time strategies for the treatment of these neurodegenerative diseases in addition to current treatment strategies that merely alleviate symptoms, such as the administration of L-DOPA.

In Iwatsubo T. (Neuropathology 27 (5) (2007): 474-478), a-synuclein and its phosphorylation association with the onset of a-synucleinopathy were examined. The authors of this publication found that serine 129 of α -synuclein deposited in synucleinopathic lesions was extensively phosphorylated.

US 2007/213253 relates to mutant human alpha-synuclein and peptides derived therefrom which are useful for inhibiting aggregation of wild-type human alpha-synuclein.

In WO 2004/041067, means and methods for preventing or treating diseases associated with alpha-synuclein aggregation are disclosed, including the use of alpha-synuclein fragments.

In US 2003/166558, peptides are described that can be used to induce an immune response against protein deposits.

US 2005/198694 relates to fragments of alpha-synuclein comprising at least 100 amino acids and having a C-terminal deletion of 1 to 23 amino acids.

Although experimental therapies using neurotrophic factors and transplantation of dopaminergic cells produce promising results, there is a need for alternative means designed to reduce the accumulation of alpha-syn neurons.

Recently, active and passive immunotherapy is increasingly attracting attention as a potential new therapeutic strategy against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD), prion Disease (Prion Disease), and Huntington's Disease (Chorea Huntington) and Amyloid Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). For example, recent studies of the tg model of AD have shown that antibodies to β -amyloid 1-42 (Α β) promote amyloid removal from the brain, leading to an improvement in cognitive ability. Importantly, the a β molecule is predominantly extracellular and therefore constitutes an accessible epitope for the immune system. In contrast to the "classical" targets of immunotherapy described above, experiments were conducted to measure potential immunotherapies that reduce the accumulation of intracellular pathogenic molecules. Immunization approaches targeting prion and huntingtin (huntingtin) have been shown to be effective in neurons of tg mice to reduce intracellular accumulation of the two above-mentioned molecules like α -syn. Furthermore, recent experiments have described anti-Tau and anti-SOD 1 therapies as novel therapeutic strategies against intracellular pathogenic protein aggregates in AD and ALS, respectively. Thus, compelling evidence has been accumulated that intracellular aggregates in brain cells can serve as targets for immunotherapy. Indeed, a similar potential for the treatment of synucleinopathies has recently been shown. Tg mice overexpressing human alpha-syn were inoculated with human alpha-syn protein. In mice that developed high relative affinities after inoculation, there was a reduction in the accumulation of alpha-syn that accumulated in neuronal cell bodies and synapses, which was associated with reduced neurodegeneration. Further, antibodies produced by immunized animals also detected the presence of α -syn associated with neuronal membranes in an abnormally aggregated form and promoted the degradation of these aggregates, possibly via the lysosomal pathway. Similar effects were observed with passive immunotherapy with exogenously applied alpha-syn specific antibodies. These results indicate that vaccination is effective in reducing neuronal accumulation of alpha-syn aggregates, and further development of this approach may have beneficial effects in the treatment of LBD and synucleinopathies.

The object of the present invention is to provide a medicine for preventing and treating synucleinopathies based on seedling raising.

The invention therefore relates to the use of at least one compound comprising the following amino acid sequence:

(X ₁ ) _n X ₂ X ₃ PVX ₄ X ₅ X ₆ (X ₇ ) _m (formula 1) in the formula (I),

wherein

X ₁ Is any amino acid residue of the amino acid sequence,

X ₂ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: aspartic acid (D) and glutamic acid (E),

X ₃ is any amino acid residue of the amino acid sequence,

X ₄ is any amino acid residue of the amino acid sequence,

X ₅ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: proline (P) and alanine (A),

X ₆ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: aspartic acid (D) and glutamic acid (E),

X ₇ is any amino acid residue of the amino acid sequence,

n and m, independently of one another, are 0 or an integer greater than 0,

and wherein the amino acid sequence of formula I does not comprise an 8-mer polypeptide fragment of α -synuclein having the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN, and is not identical thereto, said compound having binding capacity to an antibody specific for an epitope of α -synuclein comprising the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN, for use in the production of a medicament for the prevention and/or treatment of synucleinopathies.

The compounds of the invention are capable of inducing the production in vivo of antibodies (also including fragments of a-synuclein comprising the amino acid sequence) that target (bind to) a-synuclein, in particular an a-synuclein epitope comprising the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN. However, antibodies directed (binding) to said epitope show no or only significantly lower immunoreactivity towards β -synuclein compared to α -synuclein. In contrast, antibodies induced by immunization with the original α -synuclein epitope containing DMPVDPDN surprisingly bound to both α -synuclein and β -synuclein. Thus, unlike the original α -synuclein or fragments thereof, the compounds of the invention provide specificity for the disease-associated molecule and avoid cross-reactivity with β -synuclein that is not associated with the disease. This shows strong advantages in terms of efficiency and safety, especially the latter, since the neuroprotective properties of β -synuclein have been described. Hashimoto m.et al, J Biol chem.2004may 28;279 23622-9, hashimoto M, neuron.2001Oct 25;32 (2):213-23.

An α -synuclein-specific antibody induced by administration of a compound of the invention may bind not only to the monomeric form of α -synuclein, but also to its multimeric form. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of alpha-synuclein oligomers in the individual to be treated. Reduction of alpha-synuclein is particularly beneficial for the treatment of synuclein.

The amino acid sequence (X) ₁ ) _n X ₂ X ₃ PVX ₄ X ₅ X ₆ (X ₇ ) _m A mimotope considered to comprise an alpha-synuclein epitope of the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN. According to the invention, the term "mimotope" refers to a molecule having a configuration that is topologically equivalent to the epitope it mimics. The mimotope binds to the same antigen binding region of an antibody that immunospecifically binds to the desired antigen. The mimotope will generate an immune response in a host reactive to the antigen it mimics. The mimotopes may also function as competitors of their mimotopes in an in vitro inhibition assay (e.g., an ELISA inhibition assay) involving the epitope and an antibody that binds to the epitope. However, the mimotopes of the present invention do not necessarily prevent binding to, or compete with, the mimotopes in vitro inhibition assays, although they are capable of inducing a specific immune response when administered to a mammal.

The term "epitope" as used herein refers to an immunogenic region of an antigen that is recognized by a particular antibody molecule. In general, an antigen has one or more epitopes, each epitope capable of binding to an antibody that recognizes that particular epitope.

The mimotopes of the present invention may be produced artificially, either as an isolated peptide or as part of another peptide or polypeptide, by chemical synthesis methods well known in the art. Alternatively, the peptide mimotope may be produced in a microorganism producing the peptide mimotope and subsequently isolated and, if desired, further purified. The peptide mimotope may be produced in a microorganism, such as a bacterium, yeast or fungus, or in a recombinant viral vector, such as an adenovirus, poxvirus, herpesvirus, simliki forest virus, baculovirus, bacteriophage, sindbis virus or Sendai virus. Suitable bacteria for producing the peptide mimotopes include E.coli (E.coli), B.subtilis (B.subtilis) or any other bacteria capable of expressing a peptide, such as the peptide mimotopes. Suitable types of yeast for expressing the peptide mimotope include Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), schizosaccharomyces pombe (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), candida, pichia pastoris (Pichia pastoris), or any other yeast capable of expressing a peptide. Corresponding methods are well known in the art. In addition, methods for isolating and purifying recombinantly produced peptides are also well known in the art and include, for example, gel filtration, affinity chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, and the like.

To facilitate isolation of the peptide mimotope, a fusion polypeptide can be prepared in which the peptide mimotope is translationally fused (covalently linked) to a heterologous polypeptide that can be isolated by affinity chromatography. Typically the heterologous polypeptide is a His-tag (e.g., his) ₆ (ii) a Six histidine residues), GST-tag (glutathione-S-transferase), and the like. The fusion polypeptide not only facilitates purification of the mimotope, but also prevents degradation of the mimotope polypeptide during purification. If it is desired to remove the heterologous polypeptide after the purification process, the fusion polypeptide may comprise a cleavage site at the junction between the peptide mimotope and the heterologous polypeptide. The cleavage site consists of an amino acid sequence that can be cleaved with an enzyme (e.g., a protease) specific for the amino acid sequence at the site.

Mimotopes of the present invention may also be modified at or near their N-and/or C-termini such that cysteine residues are incorporated at said positions. In a preferred embodiment, cysteine residues at terminal positions (located at the N-and C-terminus of the peptide) are used to cyclize the peptide via a disulfide bond.

The mimotopes of the present invention may also be used in various assays and kits, particularly in immunoassays and kits. Thus, it is particularly preferred that the mimotope is part of another peptide or polypeptide, particularly an enzyme that is used as a reporter in an immunoassay. The above-mentioned reporter enzymes include, for example, alkaline phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase.

The alpha-synuclein of the invention is preferably an antigenic polypeptide whose amino acid sequence varies between the amino acid sequences of alpha-synuclein or alpha-synuclein fragments. In this regard, the inventive mimotope may comprise not only one or more naturally occurring amino acid residues, but also amino acid substitutions of one or more non-naturally occurring amino acid residues (i.e., not selected from the group consisting of 20 "classical" amino acids), or it may consist entirely of such non-natural amino acids. In addition, the inventive antigen inducing anti- α -synuclein antibodies may consist of a combination of D-or L-amino acids or DL-amino acids, and may be altered by further modification, ring closure (ring closure), or derivatization, as desired. Suitable anti-a-synuclein antibody-inducing antigens can be provided from commercially available peptide libraries. Preferably, these peptides are at least 7 amino acids, and preferably can be up to 16, preferably up to 14 or 20 amino acid residues in length (e.g., 7 or 8 to 20, 7 or 8 to 16, etc.). However, according to the present invention, longer peptides may also be used as anti-a-synuclein antibody-inducing antigens. Further, the mimotopes of the present invention may also be part of a polypeptide and thus comprise at least one further amino acid residue at its N-and/or C-terminus.

For the preparation of α -synuclein mimotopes (i.e., anti- α -synuclein antibody-inducing antigens), phage libraries, peptide libraries are of course also suitable, e.g., displays produced by combinatorial chemistry methods or obtained by high throughput screening techniques for the most varied structures A Laboratory Manual by cars F.Barbas (Editor), et al; will WG Phage display, practicalities and prospects, plant mol, biol, 2002Dec; 50 (6):837-54).

Furthermore, according to the invention, nucleic acid-based anti-alpha-synuclein-antibodies may also be usedAntigens ("aptamers")), and they can be found using maximally varying (oligonucleotide) libraries (e.g., having 2-180 nucleic acid residues) (e.g., burgstaler et al, curr. Opin. Drug discov. Dev.5 (2002), 690-700, fauulok et al, acc. Chem. Res.33 (2000), 591-599, mayer et al, PNAS 98 (2001)). In nucleic acid-based anti-a-synuclein antibody-inducing antigens, the nucleic acid backbone may be provided by, for example, natural phosphodiester compounds, or also by phosphorothioate compounds (phosphorothionates) or combinations of chemical changes (e.g., PNAs), wherein according to the present invention, U, T, a, C, G, H and mC may be used primarily as bases. The 2' residue of the nucleotide which can be used according to the invention is preferably H, OH, F, cl, NH ₂ O-methyl, O-ethyl, O-propyl or O-butyl, where the said suitability may also be modified distinctively, i.e. for example with protecting groups, which are customarily used in oligonucleotide synthesis. Thus, aptamer-based anti-a-synuclein antibody-inducing antigens are also preferred anti-a-synuclein antibody-inducing antigens within the scope of the present invention.

According to the invention, the term "synucleinopathies" includes all neurodegenerative diseases characterized by pathological synuclein aggregation. Several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's Disease (PD), lewy Body Disease (LBD), diffuse Lewy Body Disease (DLBD), dementia with Lewy body Disease (DLB), parkinson's syndrome with dementia (PDD), multiple System Atrophy (MSA), and neurodegenerative with brain iron accumulation Type I (NBIA Type I) are grouped together as synucleinopathies.

The compounds of the invention are useful not only for treating synucleinopathies, but also for preventing synucleinopathies in individuals at risk of developing such diseases (e.g., susceptible to, e.g., genetically predisposed to developing synucleinopathies).

The abbreviations for the amino acid residues disclosed in the present invention follow the IUPAC recommendations:

amino acids	Three letter code	One letter code
			Alanine	Ala	A
Arginine	Arg	R
			Aspartic acid	Asn	N
Asparagine	Asp	D
			Cysteine	Cys	C
Glutamic acid	Glu	E
			Glutamine	Gln	Q
Glycine	Gly	G
			Histidine	His	H
Isoleucine	Ile	I
			Leucine and its use as a pharmaceutical	Leu	L

Amino acids	Three letter code	One letter code
			Lysine	Lys	K
Methionine	Met	M
			Phenylalanine	Phe	F
Proline	Pro	P
			Serine	Ser	S
Threonine	Thr	T
			Tryptophan	Trp	W
Tyrosine	Tyr	Y
			Valine	Val	V

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, X ₁ And/or X ₇ Is an acetylated amino acid residue or cysteine (C).

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, X ₂ Is glutamic acid, and the glutamic acid can also be derivatized to produce pyroglutamic acid. If X ₂ Comprises glutamic acid, X ₁ Is 0.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, X ₃ Is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: glutamine (Q), serine (S), threonine (T), arginine (R), asparagine (N), valine (V), histidine (H), methionine (M), tyrosine (Y), alanine (a) and leucine (L).

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, X ₄ Is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: glutamine (Q), tryptophan (W), threonine (T)) Arginine (R), aspartic acid (D), isoleucine (I), valine (V), histidine (H), proline (P), tyrosine (Y), alanine (a), serine (S) and leucine (L).

The compounds of the invention may also be part of a polypeptide of 7 to 16 amino acid residues. N and m may thus, independently of one another, be an integer selected from the group consisting of: 1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20 and 25.

The compounds of the invention may be composed of the amino acid sequence (X) ₁ )nX ₂ X ₃ PVX ₄ X ₅ X ₆ (X ₇ ) m, wherein n and m are each independently of the other 0 or 1, or is a part of a polypeptide comprising at least 7 amino acid residues, preferably at least 10 amino acid residues, more preferably at least 15 amino acid residues and/or at most 50 amino acid residues, in order at most 30 amino acid residues, more preferably 16 amino acid residues.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the compound comprises a peptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (C) DQPVLPD, (C) DMPVLPD, (C) DSPVLPD, (C) DSPVWAE, (C) DTPVLAE, (C) DQPVLPDN, (C) DMPVLPDN, (C) DSPVLPDN, (C) DQPVTAEN, (C) DSPVWAEN, (C) DTPVLAEN, (C) HDRPVTPD, (C) DRPVTPD, (C) DVPVLPDD, (C) DTPVYPD, (C) DTPVIPD, (C) HDRPVTPDN, (C) DRPVTPDN, (C) DNPVHPEN, (C) DVLPDN, (C) DTPVIPDN, (C) DMPVLPDG, (C) DSPVLPDG, (C) DSPVWAEG (C) DRPVAPEG, (C) DHPVHPDS, (C) DMPVSPDR, (C) DSPVPPDD, (C) DQPVYPDI, (C) DRPVYPDI, (C) DHPVTPDR, (C) EYPVYPES, (C) DTPVLPDS, (C) DMPVTPDT, (C) DAPVTPDT, (C) DSPVVPDN, (C) DLPVTPDR, (C) DSPVHPDT, (C) DAPVRPDS, (C) DMPVWPDG, (C) DAPVYPDG, (C) DRPVQPDR, (C) YDRPVQPDR, (C) DMPVDPEN, (C) DMPVDADN, PVDPD, (C) DMPVLPD (C), DMPVDPN and (C) EMPVHPVE.

Surprisingly, it was found that the compounds of the invention comprising or consisting of the amino acid sequences listed above are particularly suitable for the production of a medicament to be used for the treatment or prevention of synucleinopathies. These peptides (mimotopes) are capable of inducing in vivo the formation of antibodies directed to the primary epitope of human alpha-synuclein comprising the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN as well as to human alpha-synuclein itself. However, the peptides (mimotopes) are not capable of inducing, or only very limited, immune reactivity against human β -synuclein. Surprisingly, the antibodies (comprising the amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN) induced by the original α -synuclein specifically bind to α -synuclein as well as β -synuclein. Thus, the peptide (mimotope) induces a more precise (refined) immune response (antibody) compared to the original peptide. However, mimotope-induced immune responses do not necessarily distinguish between alpha-synuclein (synuclein) and beta-synuclein. In an individual, peptide-induced antibodies are responsible for the removal of alpha-synuclein (which is involved in the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregates, lewy bodies), and/or the dissociation of alpha-synuclein aggregates (Lewy bodies).

The peptides listed above may or may not contain a cysteine residue at their N-terminus, although the C-residue may also be added to the C-terminus. Thus, the present invention encompasses the following peptides which are free of cysteine residues at their N-or C-termini: <xnotran> DQPVLPD, DMPVLPD, DSPVLPD, DSPVWAE, DTPVLAE, DQPVLPDN, DMPVLPDN, DSPVLPDN, DQPVTAEN, DSPVWAEN, DTPVLAEN, HDRPVTPD, DRPVTPD, DVPVLPD, DTPVYPD, DTPVIPD, HDRPVTPDN, DRPVTPDN, DNPVHPEN, DVPVLPDN, DTPVYPDN, DTPVIPDN, DQPVLPDG, DMPVLPDG, DSPVLPDG, DSPVWAEG, DRPVAPEG, DHPVHPDS, DMPVSPDR, DSPVPPDD, DQPVYPDI, DRPVYPDI, DHPVTPDR, EYPVYPES, DTPVLPDS, DMPVTPDT, DAPVTPDT, DSPVVPDN, DLPVTPDR, DSPVHPDT, DAPVRPDS, DMPVWPDG, DAPVYPDG, DRPVQPDR, YDRPVQPDR, DMPVDPEN, DMPVDADN, EMPVDPDN DNPVHPE. </xnotran>

The compounds of the invention are useful for the preparation of a medicament, in particular a vaccine, which can be used for the treatment of alpha-synucleinopathies, whereby the medicament is particularly suitable for the treatment of synucleinopathies selected from the group consisting of: parkinson's Disease (PD), lewy Body Disease (LBD), diffuse Lewy Body Disease (DLBD), dementia with Lewy body Disease (DLB), parkinson's syndrome with dementia (PDD), multiple System Atrophy (MSA), and neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation Type I (NBIA Type I).

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the compound is coupled to a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, preferably KLH (Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin), tetanus toxin, albumin binding protein, bovine serum albumin, dendrimer (MAP; biol. Chem.358: 581), peptide linker (or regions at both ends thereof) and Singh et al, nat. Biotech.17 (1999), 1075-1081 (in particular as described in Table 1 of this document) and O' Hagan et al, nature Reviews, drug Discovery 2 (9) (2003), 727-735 (in particular the endogenous immunopotentiating compounds and delivery systems described therein) and others, or mixtures thereof. The binding chemistry in this context (e.g. via heterobifunctional compounds such as GMBS, but also including others described in "Bioconjugate Techniques", greg t. Hermanson) may be selected from reactions known to the person skilled in the art. In addition, the vaccine composition (vaccine composition) can be formulated with an adjuvant, preferably a low-solubility aluminum component. Adjuvants such as MF59 aluminium phosphate, calcium phosphate, cytokines (e.g. IL-2, IL-12, GM-CSF), saponins (e.g. QS 21), MDP derivatives, cpG oligomers, IC31, LPS, MPL, polyphosphazene, emulsifiers (e.g. Freund's, SAF), liposomes, viral particles (virosomes), immune stimulating complexes (iscoms), cochleates (cochleate), PLG microparticles, poloxamer particles (poloxamer particles), viroids, heat labile enterotoxin (LT), typhoid toxin (CT), variant toxins (e.g. LTK63 and LTR 72), microparticles and/or multimerised liposomes may of course also be used.

The compounds of the invention are preferably bound to the carrier or adjuvant via a linker selected from the group consisting of: NHS-polyethylene oxide (PEO) (e.g., NHS-PEO) ₄ -maleimide).

Vaccines comprising the compounds of the invention (mimotopes) and the pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be administered by any suitable method of use, e.g., i.d., i.v., i.p., i.m., intranasally, orally, subcutaneously, etc., and in any suitable delivery device (O' Hagan et al, nature Reviews, drug Discovery 2 (9), (2003), 727-735). The compounds of the invention are preferably formulated for intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal or intramuscular administration (see, e.g., "Handbook of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Formulations", sarfaraz Niazi, CRC Press Inc, 2004).

In general, the vaccine contains from 0.1ng to 10mg, preferably 10ng to 1mg, especially 100ng to 100. Mu.g, or, for example, 100fmol to 10. Mu. Mol, preferably 10pmol to 1. Mu. Mol, especially 100pmol to 100nmol of a compound of the invention. Generally, the vaccine will also contain auxiliary substances such as buffers, stabilizers and the like.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a peptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (C) DQPVLPD, (C) DMPVLPD, (C) DSPVLPD, (C) DSPVWAE, (C) DTPVLAE, (C) DQPVLPDN, (C) DMPVLPDN, (C) DSPVLPDN, (C) DQPVTAEN, (C) DSPVWAEN, (C) DTPVLAEN, (C) HDRPVTPD, (C) DRPVTPD, (C) DVPVLPD, (C) DTPVYPD, (C) DTPVIPD, (C) HDRPVTPDN, (C) DRPVTPDN, (C) DNPVHPEN, (C) PVLPDN, (C) DTPVIPDN, (C) DQPVLPDG, (C) DMPVLPDG, (C) DSPVLPDG, (C) DSPVWAEG (C) DRPVAPEG, (C) DHPVHPDS, (C) DMPVSPDR, (C) DSPVPPDD, (C) DQPVYPDI, (C) DRPVYPDI, (C) DHPVTPDR, (C) EYPVYPES, (C) DTPVLPDS, (C) DMPVTPDT, (C) DAPVTPDT, (C) DSPVVPDN, (C) DLPVTPDR, (C) DSPVHPDT, (C) DAPVRPDS, (C) DMPVWPDG, (C) DAPVYPDG, (C) DRPVQPDR, (C) YDRPVQPDR, (C) DMPVDPEN, (C) DMPVDADN, DQPVLPD (C), DMPVLPDD (C), (C) EMDPDN and (C) DNPVHPE.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the peptide is coupled to a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, preferably KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin).

Another aspect of the invention relates to a pharmaceutical formulation, preferably a vaccine, comprising at least one peptide of the invention and selected from the group consisting of: (C) DQPVLPD, (C) DMPVLPD, (C) DSPVLPD, (C) DSPVWAE, (C) DTPVLAE, (C) DQPVLPDN, (C) DMPVLPDN, (C) DSPVLPDN, (C) DQPVTAEN, (C) DSPVWAEN, (C) DTPVLAEN, (C) HDRPVTPD, (C) DRPVTPD, (C) DVPVLPD, (C) DTPVYPD, (C) DTPVIPD, (C) HDRPVTPDN, (C) DRPVTPDN, (C) DNPVHPEN, (C) PVLPDN, (C) DTPVIPDN, (C) DQPVLPDG, (C) DMPVLPDG, (C) DSPVLPDG, (C) DSPVWAEG (C) DRPVAPEG, (C) DHPVHPDS, (C) DMPVSPDR, (C) DSPVPPDD, (C) DQPVYPDI, (C) DRPVYPDI, (C) DHPVTPDR, (C) EYPVYPES, (C) DTPVLPDS, (C) DMPVTPDT, (C) DAPVTPDT, (C) DSPVVPDN, (C) DLPVTPDR, (C) DSPVHPDT, (C) DAPVRPDS, (C) DMPVWPDG, (C) DAPVYPDG, (C) DRPVQPDR, (C) YDRPVQPDR, (C) DMPVDPEN, (C) DMPVDADN, PVDPD, (C) DMPVLPD (C), DMPVDPN and (C) DMPVHPVE.

The pharmaceutical formulations of the invention, which may be formulated as vaccines for, e.g., subcutaneous, intravenous and/or intramuscular administration, may be used to treat any type of synuclein.

The invention is further illustrated in the following figures and examples, but is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 shows the detection of specific epitopes of alpha-synuclein by ELISA using monoclonal antibodies specific for human alpha-synuclein at positions 115-122.

The peptides p4446 (α -synuclein), p4449 and p4448 (human epitopes) were detected by the antibodies. The negative control peptides p4447 (β -synuclein) and p4450, p4451 (mouse epitope) were not detected. Irrelevant peptide p1252 showed no binding in the ELISA assay. Data are presented on a linear scale.

FIG. 2 shows the detection of mimotopes by ELISA using monoclonal antibodies specific for human alpha-synuclein at positions 115-122. Data for two mimotopes (p 4553, p 4557) are shown. Peptide p4557 showed weaker binding compared to the original peptide p 4448. The peptide p4553 showed strong binding to the detection antibody. Irrelevant peptide p1253 did not show any binding in the ELISA assay as predicted. When vaccinated with mice, both mimotopes induced titers of >1/20000 and were considered strong binders.

FIG. 3 shows the detection of the competitive effect of mimotopes by ELISA using monoclonal antibody specific for human alpha-synuclein at positions 115-122. The values described were determined in an inhibition assay by ELISA using 40 μ g of peptide. The irrelevant peptide p1253 and the mimotope p4492 did not show a competitive effect compared to the original peptide p 4448. Mimotopes p4490 and p4491 show a similar competition effect to the original peptide p 4448. Competition was calculated by comparing the OD at 40 μ g peptide concentration in ELISA with the original epitope. All mimotopes were compared to the reference to obtain the competition index (competition index). The finger around 1 indicates high inhibitory ability. Peptides with a competition index of 5 or more were evaluated as non-competitive.

Figure 4 shows immune responses against injected peptides and irrelevant peptides.

A) Sera of immunized mice after four vaccinations showed high titers against their injected peptides (original epitope (p 4448) and mimotopes (p 4456, p4466 and p4467, respectively)). The titer measured by ELISA was around 1 10000 (1. As a positive control for ELISA, a monoclonal antibody specific to α -synuclein (CTRL pos) was used.

B) The same sera from immunized mice failed to detect irrelevant peptides (p 1253). The titer determined by ELISA was less than 1 (OD half maximum), more than one hundred fold lower than the signal (CTRL pos) from a monoclonal antibody specific for the irrelevant peptide. As a positive control, primary antibody (primary antibody) was not used. Data are presented on a linear scale.

FIG. 5 shows immune responses against synuclein following repeated mimotope immunizations.

A) Sera pooled from all animals in their respective groups showed antibody titers against p4448, a protein located at the C-terminus of alpha-synuclein. Data are presented on a logarithmic scale.

B) Pooled sera of immunized mice (p 4448, p4457 and p 4463) showed titers against alpha-synuclein after four vaccinations. Pooled sera of immunized mice (p 4466 and p 4467) did not detect alpha or beta-synuclein (titers measured by ELISA were much less than half-maximum of 1. Pooled sera immunized with the original epitope (p 4448) detected alpha and beta-synuclein. Titers determined by ELISA, where less than 1. Most of the tested mimotopes induce antibodies that do not cross-react with β -synuclein. Data are presented on a logarithmic scale.

Fig. 6A shows a positive control staining using a commercially available antibody that specifically detects human alpha-syn. In 6B, the same antibody was used to stain the same area of non-transgenic mouse brain, failing to detect any α -syn positive tissue, since the animal did not express human α -syn. In 6C, specific alpha-syn staining similar to that present in 6A was triggered by mimotope-induced serum (p 4498-induced serum) (elicit). Alpha-syn positive staining in the murine thalamus is characterized by a spotted staining pattern as shown in 6A and 6C. Arrows indicate three examples of the above-described alpha-syn positive inclusions found in 6A and 6C, respectively.

Examples

The antibody for mimotope identification of the present invention can be used for detecting human alpha-synuclein derived amino acid sequence DMPVDPDN (= original epitope, SEQ ID No. 1) and full-length human alpha-synuclein. It does not recognize human β -synuclein. The antibody may be a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody preparation or any antibody portion or derivative thereof, and specifically binds to a DMPVDPDN epitope of human alpha-synuclein, i.e. it does bind to peptides and full-length proteins, but does not bind to human beta-synuclein.

The mimotopes were identified and further characterized using the above-described monoclonal antibodies (detecting sequences within amino acids 115-112 of the human alpha-synuclein protein) and peptide libraries.

Example 1: generating specificity to detect original human alpha-synuclein epitope C-DMPVDPDN and human alpha-synuclein epitope C-DMPVDPDN Monoclonal antibodies to nucleoproteins but not to human beta-synuclein

Monoclonal antibodies derived from the fusion protein "AFFiRiS 3": balb/C mice were immunized with the original α -synuclein epitope C-DMPVDPDN coupled with BTG (bovine thyroglobulin) and CFA (freund's complete adjuvant, first injection) and IFA (freund's incomplete adjuvant, three booster injections) as adjuvants. Antibody-producing hybridomas specific for DMPVDPDN peptide were detected by ELISA (DMPVDPDN peptide-coated ELISA plates). Human α -synuclein (recombinant protein) was used as a positive control peptide: hybridomas recognizing the recombinant proteins immobilized on ELISA plates were included because of their specific binding peptides and full-length α -synuclein. Human β -synuclein (recombinant protein) was used as a negative control: hybridomas recognizing two peptides immobilized on ELISA plates were excluded because they did not distinguish between two different synuclein proteins.

The resulting hybridoma clones (AFFiRiS 3/9 (internal name "a509"; igG 1) were analyzed for their specific detection of native human α -synuclein epitope DMPVDPDN. A509 recognizes the injected epitope as well as the full-length α -synuclein protein (recombinant protein, obtained from rPeptide, bogart, GA, USA) in ELISA, however it does not recognize β -synuclein (recombinant protein, obtained from rPeptide, bogart, GA, USA) in ELISA further, the a509 antibody does not detect peptides encoding α -synuclein mouse variants further the same results can be obtained with commercially available mAB clones (i.e., α -synuclein (509 LB) monoclonal antibody, catalog number SIG-3974.

Example 2: phage presentation, in vitro binding and inhibitory ELISA

The phage presentation library used in this example was: ph.D.7: new England BioLabs E8102L (Linear heptamer library) and Ph.D.12: new England BioLabs E8111L (Linear dodecamer library). Phage presentation was accomplished according to the manufacturer's protocol (www.neb.com)。

After 2 to 3 subsequent rounds of panning, individual phage clones were picked and the phage supernatants were subjected to ELISA on plates coated with antibodies for the panning process. Phage clones that were positive in this ELISA (strong signal to target but no signal to non-specific control) were sequenced. The peptide sequence was deduced from the DNA sequence. These peptides were synthesized and characterized by binding and inhibitory ELISA. For some peptides, an additional AA was attached to the C-terminus. In addition, some novel mimotopes were constructed by combining sequence information from the mimotopes recognized in the screen. Both groups containing newly designed mimotopes were used to support recognition of mimotope vaccine consensus sequences.

1. In vitro binding assays (ELISA)

Peptides derived from presentation by phage and their C-terminally extended variants were incubated with BSA and bound to ELISA plates (1. Mu.M; as shown in the corresponding figure) and subsequently with monoclonal antibodies used in a screening procedure for analysis of the binding capacity of the identified peptides.

2. In vitro inhibition assay (ELISA)

Various amounts of peptides derived from phage presentation (concentrations ranging from 40. Mu.g to 0.3. Mu.g (serial dilutions) as shown in the corresponding figures) were incubated with the monoclonal antibodies used in the screening procedure. Peptides that attenuated the subsequent binding of the antibody to the original human alpha-synuclein epitope (amino acids 115-122 of human alpha-synuclein protein) coated on the ELISA plate were considered inhibitory in this assay.

Example 3: in vivo testing of mimotopes: analysis of immunogenicity and Cross-reactivity

1. In vivo testing of mimotopes

Inhibitory as well as non-inhibitory peptides were coupled to KLH and injected into mice (wild type C57/B16 mice; subcutaneously into the flank abdomen (flare)) with a suitable adjuvant (aluminium hydroxide). Animals were vaccinated 4-6 times at two week intervals and sera were also taken every two weeks. The titer against injected peptides as well as irrelevant peptides was determined for each serum. Titers against recombinant human α -synuclein protein and recombinant human β -synuclein were determined separately from serum 3. Pooled sera were tested against the original human alpha-synuclein epitope (aa 115-122). In general, sera were analyzed by reaction between a peptide coupled to its Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and recombinant full-length protein immobilized on ELISA plates. Titers were determined by using anti-mouse IgG specific antibodies. See figures 4 and 5 for detailed results.

2. In situ testing of mimotopes

Selected sera eliciting α -syn cross-reactivity were also analyzed for their ability to detect human α -syn in situ in mouse brain slices. See figure 6 for detailed results.

3. Results

3.1 recognition of α -synuclein specific mAB:

FIG. 1 depicts the recognition of the α -synuclein-specific monoclonal antibody AFFiRiS3/9 (internal name "A509"; igG 1) derived from the fusion protein AFFiRiS 3.

3.2.1 phage presentation libraries Ph.D.7 and 12

3.2.1.1 screening with monoclonal antibodies against DMPVDPDN

In this screen 51 sequences were identified by screening PhD7 and PhD12 phage presentation libraries:

table 1 summarizes the peptides identified and their binding capacity compared to the original epitope:

FIG. 1: alpha-synuclein mimotope binding to the parent antibody:

internal numbering of peptides	SEQ ID No.	Sequence of	Binding capacity
				p4456	2	CDQPVLPD	3
p4457	3	CDMPVLPD	3
				p4458	4	CDSPVLPD	3
p4460	5	CDSPVWAE	1
				p4461	6	CDTPVLAE	1
p4462	7	CDQPVLPDN	3
				p4463	8	CDMPVLPDN	3
p4464	9	CDSPVLPDN	3
				p4465	10	CDQPVTAEN	3
p4466	11	CDSPVWAEN	3
				p4467	12	CDTPVLAEN	3
p4484	13	CHDRPVTPD	3
				p4485	14	CDRPVTPD	3
P4486	15	CDNPVHPE	1
				p4487	16	CDVPVLPD	3
p4488	17	CDTPVYPD	3
				p4489	18	CDTPVIPD	3
p4490	19	CHDRPVTPDN	3
				p4491	20	CDRPVTPDN	3
p4492	21	CDNPVHPEN	3
				p4493	22	CDVPVLPDN	3
p4494	23	CDTPVYPDN	3
				p4495	24	CDTPVIPDN	3
p4496	25	CDQPVLPDG	3
				p4497	26	CDMPVLPDG	3
p4498	27	CDSPVLPDG	3

p4499	28	CDSPVWAEG	3
				p4553	29	CDRPVAPEG	3
p4554	30	CDHPVHPDS	3
				p4555	31	CDMPVSPDR	3
p4556	32	CDSPVPPDD	3
				p4557	33	CDQPVYPDI	3
p4558	34	CDRPVYPDI	3
				p4559	35	CDHPVTPDR	1
p4560	36	CEYPVYPES	3
				p4561	37	CDTPVLPDS	3
p4562	38	CDMPVTPDT	3
				p4563	39	CDAPVTPDT	3
p4564	40	CDSPVVPDN	3
				p4566	41	CDLPVTPDR	3
p4567	42	CDSPVHPDT	3
				p4568	43	CDAPVRPDS	3
p4569	44	CDMPVWPDG	3
				p4570	45	CDAPVYPDG	3
p4571	46	CDRPVQPDR	3
				p4572	47	CYDRPVQPDR	3
p4635	48	CDMPVDPEN	3
				p4636	49	CDMPVDADN	3
p4640	50	DQPVLPDC	3
				p4641	51	DMPVLPDC	3
P4648	52	CEMPVDPDN	3

Legend to table 1: the binding capacity is encoded by the following binding code: 1: x describes the dilution factor of the parent AB.

Combining codes		OD halfMaximum value 1
			0	Without bonding	:0
1	Weak bond	:<5000
			2	Moderate binding	:5000-20000
3	Such as binding of the original epitope (strong binding)	:20000-128000

3.3 mimicry tables identified in screening phage presentation libraries with monoclonal antibodies to alpha-synuclein In vitro characterization of bits

Figures 2 and 3 show representative examples of binding and inhibitory assays for in vitro characterization of mimotopes. The data obtained are summarized in table 1 and table 2, respectively.

Of the 51 sequences listed, 29 sequences inhibited the binding of a-synuclein-specific monoclonal antibodies in vitro competition experiments; in addition 22 sequences were identified that did not inhibit monoclonal antibody binding in competitive in vitro experiments, but still retained the binding capacity for the parent antibody.

Table 2: alpha-synuclein epitopes recognized in the present invention that give positive results in inhibitory assays

Legend to table 2: the coding of the inhibition capacity is performed by the following codes:

weak inhibition refers to the need for more polypeptide to reduce AB binding compared to the original epitope; strong inhibition means that the same amount of peptide is required for the mimotope and the original epitope to reduce AB binding. The mimotope was compared to the original peptide as a standard. In the analysis method using 40 u g OD for calculation and the original polypeptide compared with competitive power.

Competitive coding
		0	No inhibition (OD of 40. Mu.g peptide 5 times higher than the original peptide)
1	Weaker than the original epitope (OD of 40. Mu.g peptide is 5 times lower than the original peptide)
		2	Strong inhibition (e.g. original epitope; OD of 40. Mu.g peptide is 2 times lower than original peptide)

Table 3: non-mimotope peptides and proteins

3.4. Identification in phage presentation library screening with monoclonal antibodies against alpha-synuclein In vivo characterization of mimotopes

Groups of 5-6 female C57/B16 mice were immunized subcutaneously with 30 μ g of peptide conjugated to KLH. The p4448-KLH conjugate was administered to the control group. Alum was used as adjuvant (always 1mg per mouse). The peptides administered were all able to bind to monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to aa115-122 of human alpha-synuclein, although some peptides did not inhibit the binding of the original epitope to its parent antibody in vitro (by in vitro inhibition assays). In vitro ELISA assays to determine antibody titers were performed with sera from individual mice or pooled sera (see fig. 5) at two week intervals after each vaccination (see fig. 4 and 5, respectively). The wells of the ELISA plate were coated with a mimotope-BSA conjugate and an irrelevant peptide-BSA conjugate (negative control). Positive controls were performed by reacting the parent antibody with the corresponding mimotope-BSA polymer. Detection was performed with anti-mouse IgG. In addition, the recombinant proteins were immobilized on ELISA plates and reacted with serum accordingly.

For all mimotopes tested in C57/B16 mice, antibodies reactive against the peptide injected alone were detected after repeated vaccinations. Furthermore, antibodies reactive with human α -synuclein but not human β -synuclein were developed at2 of the 4 depicted mimotopes (see fig. 5 and table 1, respectively). 2/4 did not show cross-reactivity with recombinant proteins. Importantly, the primary epitope DMPVDPDN results in an immune response that does not distinguish between the two recombinant synuclein proteins.

Figures 4 and 5 show representative examples of assays for in vivo characterization of mimotopes. Figure 4 shows an example of in vivo characterization of the immune response elicited by mimotope vaccination by analyzing the immune response against injected peptides and irrelevant peptides containing irrelevant sequences. The original epitope p4448, i.e. the positive control peptide, and the mimotopes p4456, p4466 and p4467 elicited an immune response against the injected peptide (itself), but failed to induce a non-specific immune response against the unrelated sequence (p 1253).

Figure 5 shows an example of in vivo characterization of the immune response elicited by mimotope vaccination against full-length alpha-synuclein and beta-synuclein. All vaccines tested in this example resulted in detectable immune responses against the original alpha-synuclein epitopes 115-122. Almost all of the mimotopes tested in this example and the original epitopes (exceptions: p4466 and p 4467) further showed reactivity with full-length α -synuclein. However, the immune response induced by the original epitope also detects full-length β -synuclein, thereby reducing specificity for α -synuclein and the ability to distinguish between the two proteins. In contrast to this finding, most (but not all) mimotope-induced sera were unable to detect β -synuclein, thus preserving the ability to distinguish between the two synuclein proteins and ensuring high specificity of the active immunization program for α -synuclein for efficiency and excellent safety profile.

3.5. In situ testing of mimotopes

Mimotopes that elicit alpha-syn specific immune responses can also detect alpha-syn immunoreactive inclusions in the brain tissue of transgenic mice. As depicted in figure 6, sera from mimotope-vaccinated animals were able to stain α -syn positive structures present in brain sections from mice overexpressing human α -syn. Briefly, sera that were positively reactive to human alpha-syn in ELISA have been used for Immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC was performed on 7 μ M sections of paraffin-embedded mouse brain loaded on Superfrost Plus glass slides. Sections were incubated with serum (1 and 1. Counterstaining was performed with hematoxylin. Slides were loaded in Entellan and subsequently archived using a conventional bright field microscope. Monoclonal antibodies specific for human alpha-syn (LB 509, covance) were used as a positive control for synuclein detection at a final dilution of 1/250.

In fig. 6A, positive control staining is depicted. In 6B, the same antibody was used in the same region of the non-transgenic mouse brain, and as a result, no α -syn could be detected, since the animal did not express human α -syn. In 6C, specific alpha-syn staining similar to that exhibited in 6A was elicited by mimotope-induced serum (p 4498-induced serum). Alpha-syn positive staining in the murine thalamus is characterized by a spotted staining pattern as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C. Examples of potentially inducing alpha-syn specific antibodies include, but are not limited to, vaccines based on p4456, p4498 and p4562, respectively.

Claims (18)

1. Use of at least one compound comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: DMPVLPD, DMPVLPDN, DMPVLPDG, CDMPVLPD, CDMPVLPDN, CDMPVLPDG and DMPVLPDC.

2. The use of claim 1, wherein the synucleinopathic disease is selected from the group consisting of: lewy Body Disease (LBD), and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) or neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation type I (NBIA type I).

3. The use of claim 2, wherein the synucleinopathies are selected from the group consisting of: parkinson's Disease (PD), parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

4. The use according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the amino acid sequence is coupled to a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

5. Use according to claim 4, wherein the carrier is KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin).

6. The use according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the compound is formulated for intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal, or intramuscular administration.

7. The use of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the compound is formulated with an adjuvant.

8. The use according to claim 7, wherein the adjuvant is aluminium hydroxide.

9. The use according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the compound is comprised in the medicament in an amount of 0.1ng to 10 mg.

10. The use of claim 9, wherein the amount is 10ng to 1mg.

11. The use of claim 10, wherein the amount is 100ng to 100 μ g.

12. The use according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein the amino acid sequence is at least 7 and up to 20 amino acid residues in length.

13. A peptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: DMPVLPD, DMPVLPDN, DMPVLPDG, CDMPVLPD, CDMPVLPDN, CDMPVLPDG and DMPVLPDC.

14. The peptide of claim 13, wherein the peptide is coupled to a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

15. The peptide of claim 14, wherein the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin).

16. The peptide of any one of claims 13-15, wherein the peptide is at least 7 and up to 20 amino acid residues in length.

17. A pharmaceutical formulation comprising at least one peptide according to any one of claims 12 to 16.

18. The pharmaceutical formulation of claim 17, wherein the pharmaceutical formulation is a vaccine.