A significant interest lies in compositions that hinder the metastatic process. This process, along with recurrence, is associated with a subset of highly invasive tumorigenic cells expressing CD44. Described herein are CD44-modulating peptide compositions for combination therapy as well as method of use thereof to treat or ameliorate tumors or cancers like ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, or triple-negative breast cancer.

Provided are methods and compositions for cartilage repair. The method involves performing a surgical procedure at the site of a cartilage defect and administering a composition comprising a receptor for hyaluronan mediated motility (RHAMM)-mimetic peptide, and a high molecular weight hyaluronan.

The invention relates to a fusion protein comprising a polypeptide of interest, a transmembrane domain and an HIV gag polypeptide, or their functionally equivalent variants. The invention also relates to the polynucleotides, vectors, host cells and virus-like particles expressing or presenting said fusion proteins and to the pharmaceutical, immunogenic or vaccines composition containing said fusion proteins, polynucleotides, vectors, host cells and virus-like particles and their use in human and veterinary medicine.

The invention feature methods and compositions for treating hematopoietic disorders, inflammatory conditions, and cancer and providing stem cell therapy in a mammal.

Methods and compositions for inducing CD8+ T cells to express a CD62L.sup.hiCD44.sup.lo na?ve-like phenotype are provided. One embodiment provides a pharmaceutical composition containing CD8+ T cells induced to express a CD62L.sup.hiCD44.sup.lo na?ve-like phenotype and optionally an excipient. The CD8+ T cells can be induced by contacting them with an effective amount of a MEK1/2 inhibitor. An exemplary MEK1/2 inhibitor is Selumetinib. The induced CD8+ cells can be used to treat cancer, reduce tumor burden, or treat infections in a subject in need thereof.

A small percentage of cells within an established solid tumor have the properties of stem cells. These solid tumor stem cells give rise both to more tumor stem cells and to the majority of cells in the tumor that have lost the capacity for extensive proliferation and the ability to give rise to new tumors. Thus, solid tumor heterogeneity reflects the presence of tumor cell progeny arising from a solid tumor stem cell. This discovery is the basis for solid tumor stem cell compositions, methods for distinguishing functionally different populations of tumor cells, methods for using these tumor cell populations for studying the effects of therapeutic agents on tumor growth, and methods for identifying and testing novel anti-cancer therapies directed to solid tumor stem cells.

The invention provides a method of producing human immature dental pulp stem cells (hIDPSCs) expressing CD44 and CD13 and lacking expression of CD146. The invention also provides compositions for use in the treatment of a neurological disease or condition selected from the group consisting of Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, autoimmune encephalomyelitis, diabetic neuropathy, glaucomatous neuropathy, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease (HD), autism, schizophrenia, stroke, ischemia, a motor disorder, and a convulsive disorder.

The present disclosure relates to an oncolytic virus and methods of using such to treat cancer. The methods may advantageously involve further treating with at least a first DNA damaging agent, such as radiation or a chemotherapeutic agent. In some embodiments, the oncolytic virus is an oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) that optionally has been engineered to expression a portion of CD44, in particular the extracellular domain of CD44.

A small percentage of cells within an established solid tumor have the properties of stem cells. These solid tumor stem cells give rise both to more tumor stem cells and to the majority of cells in the tumor that have lost the capacity for extensive proliferation and the ability to give rise to new tumors. Thus, solid tumor heterogeneity reflects the presence of tumor cell progeny arising from a solid tumor stem cell. This discovery is the basis for solid tumor stem cell compositions, methods for distinguishing functionally different populations of tumor cells, methods for using these tumor cell populations for studying the effects of therapeutic agents on tumor growth, and methods for identifying and testing novel anti-cancer therapies directed to solid tumor stem cells.

The present invention relates to a protein which binds to the domain encoded by exon 9 of human CD44 (CD44ex9), to fusion proteins and conjugates of said protein and especially to nanoparticles conjugated to said protein. The invention further relates to a method of production for the protein and the respective conjugated nanoparticles and the use of the protein of the invention for treatment and diagnosis of cancer diseases.