Remedies for interstitial pneumonia, method of preparing animal model of said disease, and screening method using the same

Abstract

A remedy for interstitial pneumonia, comprising at least one, or two or more kinds of an interleukin 18 inhibitor and/or an interleukin 2 inhibitor as an active ingredient. A method of preparing an animal model of said disease, and a method of screening the remedy for interstitial pneumonia using the same. The remedy exerts a therapeutic effect by suppressing over-expression of an action of IL-18/IL-2 relating to the onset of interstitial pneumonia. The animal model is precisely capable of screening a drug, which can be expected to be clinically useful, because it resembles closely to the human clinical finding.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A remedy for interstitial pneumonia, comprising at least one, or two or more kinds of an interleukin 18 inhibitor and/or an interleukin 2 inhibitor as an active ingredient.  
     
     
         2 . A remedy for interstitial pneumonia, comprising an interleukin 18 inhibitor as an active ingredient.  
     
     
         3 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the inhibitor is a substance which inhibits conversion of a precursor of interleukin 18 into an activated one.  
     
     
         4 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 3 , wherein the inhibitor is an inhibitor of cysteine protease.  
     
     
         5 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 4 , wherein the inhibitor of cysteine protease is an interleukin 1β-converting enzyme inhibitor.  
     
     
         6 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the inhibitor is an interleukin 18-binding protein.  
     
     
         7 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the inhibitor is a monoclonal antibody specific for interleukin 18.  
     
     
         8 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the inhibitor is a monoclonal antibody specific for a receptor of interleukin 18.  
     
     
         9 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 7  or  8 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is an antibody derived from mammal.  
     
     
         10 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 7  or  8 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is a chimera antibody.  
     
     
         11 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 7  or  8 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is a humanized antibody.  
     
     
         12 . A remedy for interstitial pneumonia, comprising an interleukin 2 inhibitor as an active ingredient.  
     
     
         13 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  12 , wherein the inhibitor is a monoclonal antibody specific for interleukin 2.  
     
     
         14 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  12 , wherein the inhibitor is a substance which inhibits binding of interleukin 2 to an interleukin 2 receptor.  
     
     
         15 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 14 , wherein the substance, which inhibits binding of interleukin 2 to the interleukin 2 receptor, is an antibody or ligand bound to α chain, β chain and/or γ chain subunits of the interleukin 2 receptor.  
     
     
         16 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 13  or  14 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is an antibody derived from mammal.  
     
     
         17 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 13  or  14 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is a chimera antibody.  
     
     
         18 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 13  or  14 , wherein the monoclonal antibody is a humanized antibody.  
     
     
         19 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 1  or  12 , wherein the inhibitor is a substance which acts as an antagonist of interleukin 2.  
     
     
         20 . The remedy for interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 18 , wherein the substance, which acts as the antagonist of interleukin 2, is an interleukin 2-diphtheria toxin conjugate.  
     
     
         21 . A method of preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia, which comprises administering interleukin 18 and interleukin 2 to a rodent.  
     
     
         22 . The method of preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 21 , wherein the rodent is a mouse.  
     
     
         23 . A method of screening a remedy for interstitial pneumonia, which comprises using the animal model of interstitial pneumonia of  claim 21  or  22 .  
     
     
         24 . A composition, comprising at least one kind of an interleukin 18 inhibitor and/or an interleukin 2 inhibitor.  
     
     
         25 . A method for preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia, which comprises the steps of: administering interleukin 18 and interleukin 2 to a rodent; and preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia.  
     
     
         26 . The method for preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia according to  claim 25 , wherein the rodent is a mouse.  
     
     
         27 . A method for screening a remedy for interstitial pneumonia, which comprises the steps of: administering interleukin 18 and interleukin 2 to a rodent; preparing an animal model of interstitial pneumonia; and screening a remedy for interstitial pneumonia.  
     
     
         28 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein the rodent is a mouse.  
     
     
         29 . A method for preventing or treating interstitial pneumonia, comprising the step of administering to a patient who is subject to interstitial pneumonia an effective amount of at least one kind of an interleukin 18 inhibitor and/or an interleukin 2 inhibitor.  
     
     
         30 . A method for preventing or treating interstitial pneumonia, comprising the step of administering to a patient who is subject to interstitial pneumonia an effective amount of an interleukin 18 inhibitor.  
     
     
         31 . A method for preventing or treating interstitial pneumonia, comprising the step of administering to a patient who is subject to interstitial pneumonia an effective amount of an interleukin 2 inhibitor.