Immunomodulating polymers

Abstract

Methods and products for inducing IL-2 secretion, inducing IL-10 secretion, activating T cells, suppressing IgG antibody response to specific antigen, promoting allograft survival, reducing postoperative surgical adhesion formation, and protecting against abscess formation associated with surgery, trauma or diseases that predispose the host to abscess formation are provided. The methods of the invention are accomplished using an immunomodulator which is a polymer having at least two repeating charge motifs separated by at least a certain minimum distance.

1 . A method for treating a subject having a disorder characterized by an inappropriate IgG antibody response to specific antigen comprising: 
 administering to a subject having a disorder characterized by an inappropriate IgG antibody a pharmaceutical preparation containing an effective amount for suppressing IgG antibody response to specific antigen of a polymer of less than 50 kilodaltons having at least two repeating charge motifs, wherein the repeating charge motif is composed of a positively charged free amino moiety and a negative charge, wherein the positively charged free amino moieties of the at least two repeating charge motifs are separated by a distance of at least 32 Å, wherein when the polymer is a polypeptide the polymer does not consist of lysine (K), glutamic acid (E), alanine (A), and tyrosine (Y) residues in a relative molar ratio of 3-7 parts of K to 1-3 parts of E to 4-7 parts of A, to 0.5-2 parts of Y, and wherein the subject is not preparing to undergo surgery.    
     
     
         2 . The method of 1, wherein the pharmaceutical preparation is administered to the subject once a day.  
     
     
         3 . The method of 1, wherein the pharmaceutical preparation has a positive to negative charge ratio of 1:1.