Ecotin variants and their use in treating viral hemorrhagic fever are described. Described herein are methods for treating systemic inflammatory response syndrome or viral hemorrahagic fever by administering an ecotin polypeptide. Described herein is a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NOs: 2-9 and 11-18. Also described: is a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NO: 11-18 preceded by a methionine; a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of any of SEQ ID NO: 11 -18 with up to 5 single amino acid changes or deletions provided that the polypeptide does not comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10.

Disclosed are biodegradable nanocarriers that have a net positive surface charge and zeta potential between about +2 to about +20 mV. The positive surface charge of the nanocarriers is provided by peptides that are covalently attached to the surface of the nanocarriers. The nanocarriers may comprise a drug and may be administered for localized and sustained delivery of the drug.

Disclosed are protease inhibitors capable of inhibiting the protease activity of a S1 or a S8 protease at ambient pH, but where the inhibitor further has a pH dependent binding to the S1 or the S8 inhibitor meaning that a complex of a S1 and a S8 protease and the inhibitor dissociates when pH is lowered to a pH below 6.0, e.g. to a pH value in the range of 4.0 to 6.0; e.g. in the range of 4.5 to 6.0; e.g. in the range of 4.5 to 5.5; whereby the protease activity is released.

Systems, methods, and kits for treating, preventing, and diagnosing viral infection using an androgen mediated pathway are described. Additionally, methods and kits for guiding treatment of viral respiratory disease are described by a method for testing for polymorphisms in the androgen receptor gene. Further, systems and methods for treatment of viral respiratory disease with various anti-androgens is detailed. Finally, systems, methods, and kits for treating, preventing, and diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) are presented.

Disclosed are compositions and method related to variants of SPINK2 that bind to targets other than an endogenous target of SPINK2. In one embodiment, a peptide is provided that comprises the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1. In further embodiments, an amino acid sequences encoded by nucleotide positions 4 to 42 and/or nucleotide positions 94 to 189 in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14 flank the amino terminus and the carboxyl terminus, respectively, of the amino acid sequence. In another embodiment, a peptide is provided that comprises an amino acid sequence derived from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 in which a conservative substitution, deletion, addition and/or insertion of 1 to 5 (inclusive) amino acids has occurred at amino acids other than the 1st Xaa to the 12th Xaa counting from the amino terminus.

A2M polypeptide compositions containing a non-natural bait region are disclosed. Methods of producing wild-type and variant A2M polypeptides and polynucleotides containing a non-natural bait region are also disclosed. The bait regions of the variant A2M polypeptides demonstrate enhanced protease inhibitory characteristics compared to wild-type A2M. Variant A2M polypeptides that demonstrate longer half-lives upon administration to an organism compared to wild-type A2M are disclosed. The A2M compositions are useful in treating a number of diseases and conditions including inflammation, chronic wounds, and diseases with a pathology associated with proteases.

The present disclosure relates to a method of treating or preventing atherosclerosis in a subject by administering an inhibitor of FXII.

Featured are cells and methods of use thereof for modulating an antigen-specific immune response in a subject. The cells comprise a set of transgenes comprising two or more of PD-L1, HLA-G or H2-M3, Cd47, Cd200, FASG or FasL, Ccl21 or Ccl21b, MfgeS and Serpin B9 or Spi6, that shield the cells from immune surveillance (ie. “cloaking genes”). The cells can be used to induce immune tolerance to an antigen (e.g., a donor alloantigen or a self-antigen), or to induce an immune response to (e.g., induce the production of antibodies directed against) a non-self antigen.

Bacteria with tumor-targeting capability express, surface displayed, secreted and/or released modified chimeric therapeutic proteins with enhanced therapeutic activity against a neoplastic tissue including solid tumors, lymphomas and leukemias. The bacteria may also express, surface display, secrete and/or release a tumor-penetrating peptide. The bacteria may be attenuated, non-pathogenic, low pathogenic or a probiotic. The chimeric proteins may be protease sensitive and may optionally be further accompanied by co-expression of a secreted protease inhibitor as a separate molecule or as a fusion.

Provided is a method for producing washing enzyme having protease resistance. According to the method, the washing enzyme having resistance to protease is obtained by carrying out fusion expression on a gene of the washing enzyme with the gene of a protease inhibitory peptide, thereby facilitating maintaining the stability of various enzyme components in an enzyme-containing detergent, and improving the use effect of the detergent.