Disclosed are engineered corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) antagonist agents, including engineered corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) binding agents. The CRF antagonist agents and binding agents can be used to neutralize excess CRF in vivo and comprise a polypeptide having CRF-specific binding activity under physiological conditions coupled to one or more half-life-extending moieties. Pharmaceutical compositions are disclosed containing the CRF binding agents, which can be used in methods of treatment for diseases, disorders, or conditions involving hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity. Also disclosed are engineered nucleic acids (e.g., expression constructs or vectors) encoding the CRF binding agents and recombinant host cells comprising the engineered nucleic acids.

In alternative embodiments, the invention provides methods for treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) an individual or a patient against a disease, an infection or a condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level in vivo comprising: providing a paracrine polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence; or an expression vehicle, a vector, a recombinant virus, or equivalent, having contained therein a paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene, and the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent can express the paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene in a cell or in vivo; and administering or delivering the paracrine polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence, or the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent, to an individual or a patient in need thereof, thereby treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) the individual or patient against the disease, infection or condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level.

This document provides methods and materials related to selected engineered analogs of atrial natriuretic peptides. For example, this document provides compositions that contain one or more selected engineered analogs of atrial natriuretic peptides provided herein and that have the ability to treat, prevent, or alleviate the symptoms of cardiovascular, cardiorenal, and metabolic disease.

The present invention lies in the field of molecular biology, recombinant peptide and protein expression and relates to methods comprising nucleic acid sequences comprising allocrites of T1SSs or fragments thereof for the efficient production of recombinant Pe OIs and Pr OI. The allocrites or fragments thereof improve the expression of PeOI and Pr OI as IB and function as IB-tags.

The present invention relates to peptide modifier compounds of Formula (1), or a salt thereof, wherein: a is an integer from 1 to 10, more preferably from 1 to 3; b is an integer from 0 to 7; Z is a terminal group and Y is a bivalent group. Further aspects of the invention relate to intermediates in the preparation of compounds of Formula (1), and the use of compounds of Formula 1 in the synthesis of peptide derivatives.

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A medicament for preventing or treating heart failure containing an antagonist of the corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 2 as an active ingredient.

In alternative embodiments, the invention provides methods for treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) an individual or a patient against a disease, an infection or a condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level in vivo comprising: providing a paracrine polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence; or an expression vehicle, a vector, a recombinant virus, or equivalent, having contained therein a paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene, and the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent can express the paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene in a cell or in vivo; and administering or delivering the paracrine polypeptide -encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence, or the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent, to an individual or a patient in need thereof, thereby treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) the individual or patient against the disease, infection or condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level.

The present invention relates to novel peptides, composition comprising such peptides including nutritional supplements and methods for inducing satiation and satiety, for weight management and preventing or reducing the incidence of obesity, or for preventing or reducing cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, hypertension, hepatosteatosis, cancer and/or diabetes.

Disclosed are polypeptides that are analogs of urocortin 2 that have pharmacological activity similar to urocortin 2 but have improved water solubility compared to urocortin 2, and pharmaceutical compositions of the polypeptides of the present invention. Also disclosed are polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, and methods of treating pathophysiological states employing pharmaceutical compositions of the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention. In addition, disclosed are vectors and host cells that include a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide of the present invention, and kits that include pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention.

Despite the notion that human CD8.sup.+ T cells are the final mediators of autoimmune ?-cell destruction in type 1 diabetes (T1D), none of their target epitopes has been demonstrated to be naturally processed and presented by ? cells. The inventors therefore performed an epitope discovery study combining HLA Class I peptidomics and transcriptomics strategies. Inflammatory cytokines increased ?-cell peptide presentation in vitro, paralleling upregulation of HLA Class I expression. Peptide sources included known ?-cell antigens and several insulin granule proteins. Urocortin 3 was identified as a novel ?-cell antigen, which was processed into HLA-A2- and HLA-A3-restricted epitopes recognized by circulating naive CD8.sup.+ T cells in type 1 diabetic and healthy donors. Accordingly, the present invention relates to antigenic peptides derived from urocortin-3 and uses thereof for the diagnosis and treatment of T1D.