What is claimed is:
1. An agonist antibody which specifically binds to the WSX receptor.
2. The antibody of claim 1 which specifically binds to human WSX receptor.
3. The antibody of claim 2 which specifically binds to human WSX receptor variant 13.2.
4. The antibody of claim 1 which binds WSX receptor with a Kd of no more than about 1108M.
5. The antibody of claim 4 which binds WSX receptor with a Kd of no more than about 1109M.
6. The antibody of claim 2 which also binds to murine WSX receptor.
7. The antibody of claim 1 which has an IC50 in a KIRA ELISA of about 0.5 gml or less.
8. The antibody of claim 7 which has an IC50 in a KIRA ELISA of about 0.2 gml or less.
9. The antibody of claim 8 which has an IC50 in a KIRA ELISA of about 0.1 g ml or less.
10. The antibody of claim 1 which has biological characteristics of antibody 2D7 (ATCC Accession Number ______).
11. The antibody of claim 10 which binds to the epitope on WSX receptor bound by antibody 2D7.
12. The antibody of claim 10 which has complementarity determining region (CDR) residues from antibody 2D7.
13. The antibody of claim 1 which has the biological characteristics of antibody 1G4 (ATCC Accession Number ______).
14. The antibody of claim 13 which binds to the epitope on WSX receptor bound by antibody 1G4.
15. The antibody of claim 13 which has complementarity determining region (CDR) residues from antibody 1G4.
16. The antibody of claim 1 which has the biological characteristics of antibody 1E11 (ATCC Accession Number ______).
17. The antibody of claim 16 which binds to the epitope on WSX receptor bound by antibody 1E11.
18. The antibody of claim 16 which has complementarity determining region (CDR) residues from antibody 1E11.
19. The antibody of claim 1 which has the biological characteristics of antibody 1C11 (ATCC Accession Number ______).
20. The antibody of claim 19 which binds to the epitope on WSX receptor bound by antibody 1C11.
21. The antibody of claim 19 which has complementarity determining region (CDR) residues from antibody 1C11.
22. The antibody of claim 1 comprising hypervariable region residues of clone 3 antibody (SEQ ID NO:48).
23. The antibody of claim 1 comprising hypervariable region residues of clone 4 antibody (SEQ ID NO:49).
24. The antibody of claim 1 comprising hypervariable region residues of clone 17 antibody (SEQ ID NO:50).
25. The antibody of claim 1 which is a monoclonal antibody.
26. The antibody of claim 1 which is a hum an antibody.
27. The antibody of claim 1 which is a humanized antibody.
28. The antibody of claim 1 which is a n antibody fragment.
29. The antibody fragment of claim 28 which is an F(ab)2.
30. A composition comprising the antibody of claim 1 and a physiologically acceptable carrier.
31. The composition of claim 30 which is sterile.
32. The composition of claim 31 which is lyophilized.
33. The composition of claim 30 further comprising a cytokine.
34. A method for activating the WSX receptor comprising exposing the WSX receptor to an amount of the antibody of claim 1 which is effective for activating the WSX receptor.
35. A method for enhancing proliferation or differentiation of a cell comprising the WSX receptor comprising exposing the cell to an amount of the antibody of claim 1 which is effective for enhancing proliferation or differentiation of the cell.
36. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding the antibody of claim 1.
37. A vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 36.
38. A host cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 36.
39. A method of producing an agonist antibody which specifically binds to the WSX receptor comprising culturing the host cell of claim 38 and recovering the antibody from the cell culture.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A slack adjuster, comprising:
a single housing extending from a first end to a second end;
a tension rod positioned within and extending a length from the first end of the housing that is moveable relative to the housing to change the length that extends from the housing;
a clutch assembly having a clutch positioned in the housing and engaged with the tension rod to control movement of the tension rod relative to the housing;
a control rod interconnected to the second end of the housing and moveable relative to the housing;
an overtravel assembly positioned in the housing and operatively connected to the clutch assembly and the control rod to set the length of the tension rod that extends from the first end of the housing.
2. The slack adjuster of claim 1, further comprising a rod guide having a first end enclosing the clutch and a second end enclosing the tension rod, wherein the rod guide is fixedly attached to an intermediate portion of the housing.
3. The slack adjuster of claim 2, further comprising a cap secured to the first end of the rod guide.
4. The slack adjuster of claim 3, wherein the clutch assembly further includes a pair of thrust bearings positioned on either side of the clutch and a spring engaging the cap and one of the thrust bearings.
5. The slack adjuster of claim 4, wherein the overtravel assembly comprises:
a first sleeve extending within the housing and having a first flange operatively connected to the clutch assembly;
a second sleeve extending within the first sleeve and having a second flange operatively connected to the control rod;
a spring positioned between the first flange of the first sleeve and the second flange of the second sleeve; and
a retaining ring engaging the second flange of the second sleeve and an inner surface of the first sleeve to retain the second sleeve in telescoping engagement with the first sleeve.
6. The slack adjuster of claim 5, wherein the overtravel assembly is interconnected to the clutch assembly by at least one pin.
7. The slack adjuster of claim 6, wherein the pin interconnects the first flange of the second sleeve to one of the thrust bearings.
8. The slack adjuster of claim 7, wherein the second sleeve of the overtravel assembly contacts an actuating tube that is attached to the control rod and positioned over the second end of the tension rod for axial movement into the second end of the housing.
9. The slack adjuster of claim 8, further comprising a cap enclosing the second end of the housing and having a bore permitting the second end of the tension rod and the actuating tube to pass into the housing.
10. The slack adjuster of claim 9, further comprising a wiper positioned in the second end of the housing in engagement with the actuating tube.
11. The slack adjuster of claim 10, further comprising a wear ring in the first end of the housing positioned about the tension rod.
12. The slack adjuster of claim 11, further comprising a plate fixedly connected to the tension rod and positioned against the cap of the rod guide.
13. The slack adjuster of claim 12, further comprising a spring assembly positioned in the housing between the plate of the tension rod and the first end of the housing.
14. The slack adjuster of claim 13, wherein the spring assembly comprises a pair of springs and a spring guide positioned therebetween.
15. The slack adjuster of claim 14, further comprising a wasp excluder permitting access to an interior portion of the housing.