Fully human antibodies to btla

Abstract

The present invention relates to binding compounds specific for BTLA and uses thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to fully human antibodies that recognize human BTLA and modulate its activity in cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune disorders.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An isolated antibody, or antigen binding fragment thereof, which binds BTLA and comprises:
 (a) heavy and/or light chain variable regions as set forth in SEQ ID NOs:11 and 18, respectively; or   (b) a heavy chain variable region CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:5, a heavy chain variable region CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6, a heavy chain variable region CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7, a light chain variable region CDR1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:12, a light chain variable region CDR2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:13; and a light chain variable region CDR3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:14.   
     
     
         2 . An isolated antibody, or antigen binding fragment thereof, that competes for binding to BTLA with the antibody, or antigen binding fragment thereof, of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         3 . An isolated polypeptide comprising the V L  domain or the V H  domain of the antibody, or antigen binding fragment, of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         4 . An isolated nucleic acid encoding the V L  domain or the V H  domain of the antibody, or antigen binding fragment, of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         5 . An expression vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         6 . A host cell comprising the expression vector of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         7 . A composition comprising one or more antibodies, or antigen binding fragments, of  claim 1 , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent. 
     
     
         8 . A method of treating an inflammatory or autoimmune disorder in a subject comprising administering an effective amount of the antibody, or antigen binding fragment, of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the inflammatory or autoimmune disorder is selected from the group consisting of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory fibrosis, scleroderma, lung fibrosis, and cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, uveitis, graft versus host disease (GVHD), juvenile early-onset Type I diabetes, transplant rejection, SLE, and Sjögren's syndrome. 
     
     
         10 . A method of producing an antibody, or antigen binding fragment thereof, comprising:
 a. culturing the host cell of  claim 6  in culture medium under conditions wherein the nucleic acid sequence is expressed, thereby producing a polypeptide comprising the light and heavy chain variable regions; and   b. recovering the polypeptides from the host cell or culture medium.