An immunogenic CD40-targeted trimeric MERS-CoV S1 fusion polypeptide as well as a corresponding polynucleotide encoding it and its use for safely inducing immune responses directed against MERS-CoV without inducing vaccine associated respiratory pathologies associated with non-targeted vaccines.

An object of the present invention is to optimize, and to increase the accumulation amount of, GP5 antigen, in order to enhance the performance of a PRRS vaccine. The present invention provides a fusion protein comprising an ectodomain (ectGP5) of Glycoprotein 5 (GP5) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, and an adjuvant protein.

The present invention discloses a tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand variant, which is a fusion protein of a tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand and an F3 peptide. The F3 peptide is fused to the N-terminus or C-terminus of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand by a linker. The present invention also discloses a nucleotide sequence, as well as a recombinant vector and a recombinant bacterium comprising same, and also discloses a preparation method and use of the foregoing variant. The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand variant is prepared by means of genetic engineering in the present invention, characterized in that its affinity for tumor cells, ability to induce apoptosis in tumor cells, tumor targeting property and in vivo anti-tumor effect are significantly better than those of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand. Accordingly, this variant displays good therapeutic effects on tumor treatment and has promising prospects in clinical application.

Described herein are compositions and kits that comprise an engineered TL1A ligand that displays high stability, minimal binding to decoy receptor DcR3 while retaining functional activity via binding to its cell surface receptor, DR3, and the ability to activate T cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods of making an engineered TL1A ligand and methods of treating a disease or disorder in a subject by administering an engineered TL1A ligand are also provided.

The present invention relates in general to the field of TNF ligand family members. In more detail the present invention relates to polypeptides comprising at least three components A, each of which comprises the sequence of a TNF homology domain (THD) of a TNF ligand family member, or a functional derivative thereof, and comprising at least one component B consisting of a V.sub.L region and a V.sub.H region linked directly to each other with a linker sequence L which has a length of <12 amino acids. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to nucleic acids encoding such polypeptides and pharmaceutical compositions thereof.

In some embodiments, compositions and methods relating to isolated artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPCs) are disclosed, including aAPCs comprising a myeloid cell transduced with one or more viral vectors, such as a MOLM-14 or a EM-3 myeloid cell, wherein the myeloid cell endogenously expresses HLA-AB/C, ICOS-L, and CD58, and wherein the one or more viral vectors comprise a nucleic acid encoding CD86 and a nucleic acid encoding 4-1BBL and/or OX40L and transduce the myeloid cell to express CD86 and 4-1BBL and/or OX40L proteins. In some embodiments, methods of expanding tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with aAPCs and methods of treating cancers using TILs after expansion with aAPCs are also disclosed.

The present invention describes methods and processes for the production of proteins by animal cell or mammalian cell culture. In one aspect, the methods comprise the growth of cells in a growth factor/protein/peptide free medium. In another aspect, the methods comprise the addition of growth factors during the production phase. The methods sustain a high viability of the cultured cells, and can yield an increased end titer of protein product, and a high quality of protein product.

The present invention provides a fusion protein, comprising a chemokine polypeptide, which is a chemokine or a receptor binding domain thereof; and a cytokine polypeptide connected to said chemokine polypeptide, which is an interleukin, a TNF-superfamily cytokine or a receptor-binding domain thereof; wherein the chemokine polypeptide and the cytokine polypeptide have a common target cell, and the fusion protein has an improved chemokine activity as compared to the chemokine polypeptide, and an improved cytokine activity as compared to the cytokine polypeptide.

The present invention pertains to a cell culture medium comprising hypotaurine, GABA, and/or beta-alanine or the combination of choline and hypotaurine, GABA, and/or beta-alanine as media supplements which is shown to control viability, growth, and waste byproduct accumulation. The present invention further pertains to a method of producing a polypeptide of interest in a large scale cell culture containing hypotaurine, GABA, and/or beta-alanine or the combination of choline and hypotaurine, GABA, and/or beta-alanine.

The invention provides a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or a T cell receptor (TCR) comprising extracellular domain disclosed herein. Some aspects of the invention relate to a polynucleotide encoding a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or a T cell receptor (TCR) comprising the extracellular domain disclosed herein. Other aspects of the invention relate to cells comprising the CAR or the TCR and their use in a T cell therapy.