The present invention provides for the use of soluble forms of CD83 and nucleic acids encoding them for the treatment of diseases caused by the dysfunction or undesired function of a cellular immune response involving dendritic cells, T cells and/or B cells. The invention moreover provides soluble CD83 molecules specifically suited for said purpose, antibodies against said specific soluble CD83 proteins and assay methods and kits comprising said antibodies.

Methods for treating type one diabetes mellitus in a subject in need thereof and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of type one diabetes mellitus are disclosed, including combination therapies with insulin. The methods include administering an effective amount of apolipoprotein A-IV to the subject having type I diabetes. The pharmaceutical composition includes apolipoprotein A-IV formulated for administration to a subject for the treatment of type one diabetes mellitus.

Therapeutic agents with improved fibrinogen binding properties are described. The agents are suitable for use as artificial platelets, or for formation of biogels. Methods and intermediates for producing the agents, cross-linking agents for use in the methods, and biogels formed from, or comprising the agents, are also described.

Therapeutic agents with improved fibrinogen binding properties are described. The agents are suitable for use as artificial platelets, or for formation of biogels. Methods and intermediates for producing the agents, cross-linking agents for use in the methods, and biogels formed from, or comprising the agents, are also described.

A method for performing in vitro diagnosis of type 1 allergy, comprises contacting an immunoglobulin-containing body fluid sample from a patient suspected of having Type 1 allergy with an immobilized horse allergen immobilized on a solid support, and detecting the presence, in the sample, of IgE antibodies specifically binding to the horse allergen, wherein the presence of such IgE antibodies specifically binding to the horse allergen is indicative of Type 1 allergy. A method for treatment of Type 1 allergy comprises administering to an individual susceptible to such treatment, the horse allergen, or a form of the horse allergen that is modified to abrogate or attenuate its IgE binding response. The horse allergen may be produced via a vector and a host cell comprising the vector.

The methods and compositions described herein relate, in part, to the generation of a synthetic degradation system in E. coli that provides tunable control of the protein level of targeted genes by using components of the Mesoplasma florum tmRNA system. Provided herein are degradation tag variants that permit independent control of both the initial level and inducible degradation rate of attached proteins.

The invention is directed to isomeric mixtures of cyclosporine analogs that are structurally similar to cyclosporine A. The mixtures possess enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity over the individual isomers and over naturally occurring and other presently known cyclosporines and cyclosporine derivatives. Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward cis and trans-isomers of cyclosporin A analogs referred to as ISA.sub.TX247, and derivatives thereof. Mixtures of ISA.sub.TX247 isomers exhibit a combination of enhanced potency and reduced toxicity over the naturally occurring and presently known cyclosporins. ISA.sub.TX247 isomers and alkylated, arylated, and deuterated derivatives are synthesized by stereoselective pathways where the particular conditions of a reaction determine the degree of stereoselectivity. The ratio of isomers in a mixture comprises greater than about 80 percent by weight of the E-isomer and less than about 20 percent by weight of the Z-isomer, based on the total weight of the mixture.

Platforms comprising at least one lymphocyte affecting molecule and at least one molecular complex that, when bound to an antigen, engages a unique clonotypic lymphocyte receptor can be used to induce and expand therapeutically useful numbers of specific lymphocyte populations. Antigen presenting platforms comprising a T cell affecting molecule and an antigen presenting complex can induce and expand antigen-specific T cells in the presence of relevant peptides, providing reproducible and economical methods for generating therapeutic numbers of such cells. Antibody inducing platforms comprising a B cell affecting molecule and a molecular complex that engages MHC-antigen complexes on a B cell surface can be used to induce and expand B cells that produce antibodies with particular specificities.

Constructs having membrane proteins stabilized by functionalized beta-sheet peptides are provided. The constructs can be associated with or covalently linked to supports. The support can be a membrane. The membrane can be used to selectively move desired particles from one side of the membrane to the other while impeding passage of undesired particles through the membrane. Methods of making and using such constructs and membranes are provided.

The present invention relates to methods of cleaving the N-terminal amino acid from a polypeptide, which may be in free form or conjugated to a carrier or surface, such as a bead. It provides methods to activate the N-terminal amine of a polypeptide to promote formation of a cyclic adduct of the N-terminal amino acid, resulting in cleavage of the N-terminal amino acid from the polypeptide. The method can be used to sequence and/or analyze a polypeptide. For example, the methods can be combined with methods described herein for sequencing and/or analysis that employ barcoding and nucleic acid encoding of molecular recognition events, and/or detectable labels. The invention also provides compounds and kits useful for practicing these methods.