Soluble interleukin-20 receptor

Abstract

A soluble receptor to IL-20 having two polypeptide subunits, IL-20RA (formerly called ZcytoR7) and IL-20RB (formerly called DIRS1). The two subunits are preferably linked together. In one embodiment one subunit is fused to the constant region of the light chain of an immunoglobulin, and the other subunit is fused to the constant region of the heavy chain of the immunoglobulin. The light chain and the heavy chain are connected via a disulfide bond.

1 . A method of treating an IL-20-mediated inflammatory disease, the method comprising:
 administering to a mammal having said inflammatory disease an effective amount of a soluble IL-20 receptor comprising an IL-20RA subunit and an IL-20RB subunit, wherein the IL-20RA subunit comprises a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:55 and the IL-20RB subunit comprises a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:59.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the IL-20RA subunit and the IL-20RB subunit are covalently linked together. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein one of said IL-20RA and IL-20RB subunits has an immunoglobulin heavy chain constant region fused to its carboxy terminus, and wherein the other subunit has an immunoglobulin light chain constant region fused to its carboxy terminus, such that a disulfide bond is formed between the immunoglobulin heavy and light constant regions. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inflammatory disease is an inflammatory skin disease. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the inflammatory skin disease is selected from the group consisting of psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis, and contact dermatitis. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inflammatory disease is an inflammatory lung disease. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the inflammatory lung disease is selected from the group consisting of asthma, bronchitis, and cystic fibrosis. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inflammatory disease is rheumatoid arthritis. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inflammatory disease is inflammatory bowel disease. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the inflammatory bowel disease is selected from the group consisting of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.