The present invention relates to compounds of Formula I, IA, II, IIA, III, or IIIA and their pharmaceutical uses. Particular aspects of the invention relate to the use of those compounds for the selective inhibition of one or more caspases. Also described are methods where the compounds of Formula I, IA, II, IIA, III, or IIIA are used in the prevention and/or treatment of various diseases and conditions in subjects, including caspase-mediated diseases such as sepsis, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and neurodegenerative disease (e.g. multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases).

An isolated peptide comprising a Huntingtin (Htt) amino acid sequence being no longer than 15 amino acids, wherein said Htt amino acid sequence comprises the sequence X.sub.1X.sub.2X.sub.3X.sub.4 X.sub.5, wherein X.sub.1 is a hydrophobic amino acid or threonine, X.sub.2 is a hydrophobic amino acid, X.sub.3 is a hydrophobic amino acid, X.sub.4 is an acidic amino acid and X.sub.5 is selected from the group consisting of glycine, serine and alanine, the peptide capable of specifically inhibiting the activity of caspase 6.

A peptide, polypeptide, protein, DNA construct, vector, composition, or fusion protein for the treatment of a condition, such as cancer, and a method of treating the condition (cancer) using the peptide, polypeptide, protein, or composition, are disclosed. The polypeptide or composition includes a fusion protein comprising a modified cystatin peptide.

The present disclosure discloses a polypeptide having an effect of inhibiting the proliferation of leukemia cells, and particularly relates to use of the polypeptide in a drug for treating leukemia. The polypeptide consists of 37 amino acids, with the amino acid sequence thereof being Lys-Glu-Ser-Met-Asp-Ala-Asn-Lys-Pro-Thr-Lys-Asn-Leu-Pro-Leu-Lys-Lys-Ile-Pro-Cys-Lys-Thr-Ser-Ala-Pro-Ser-Gln-Ser-Phe-Phe-Ala-Arg-Asp-Asn-Thr-Ala-Asn, and the N-terminus of the polypeptide being conjugated with myristate. The polypeptide prepared by the present disclosure can enter the leukemia cells by conjugating with the myristic acid, thereby achieving the effect of inhibiting the proliferation of the leukemic cells.

A composition comprising, for example, chemically modified RNA (cmRNA) encoding CST6 or a polypeptide with at least 80% amino acid sequence identity thereto, and methods of making and using the cmRNA, are provided.

Anti-inflammatory proteins/peptides are described, as well as their uses, methods of preparation, and methods of their detection. Specifically described are major royal jelly proteins modified by methylglyoxal and fragments thereof from a Leptospermum derived honey and royal jelly.

L27 in Staphylococcus aureus and other Firmicutes is encoded with an N-terminal extension that is not present in most Gram-negative organisms and is absent from mature ribosomes. We have identified a cysteine protease, conserved among bacteria containing the L27 N-terminal extension, which performs post-translational cleavage of L27. The provided methods have utility for the development of new therapeutic antibiotics that target this novel pathway in order to kill pathogenic Firmicutes and related bacteria.

A method of treating metastatic cancer, comprising the steps of (a) treating a metastatic cancer patient with an isolated therapeutic Cystatin C peptide, and (b) observing a reduction in tumor burden is disclosed.

The present invention relates to compounds of Formula I, IA, II, HA, III, or IHA and their pharmaceutical uses. Particular aspects of the invention relate to the use of those compounds for the selective inhibition of one or more caspases. Also described are methods where the compounds of Formula I, IA, II, IIA, III, or IIIA are used in the prevention and/or treatment of various diseases and conditions in subjects, including caspase-mediated diseases such as sepsis, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and neurodegenerative disease (e.g. multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases).

The invention relates to a polypeptide, such as an Affimer polypeptide, comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80% identity to amino acid residues 1 to 11, 13 to 15, 17 to 19, 21 to 25, 27 to 28, 35 to 37, 39, 41, 43 to 44, 46 to 47, 49 to 50, 52 to 53, 55 to 58, 63 to 64, 66, 68 to 82, 84 to 85, and 87 to 98 of SEQ ID NO: 1; characterized in that said polypeptide comprises one or mutations relative to SEQ ID NO: 1. The invention also relates to various methods and nucleic acids.