This disclosure relates to the combination of soluble ?-glucan and immune suppression-relieving agents that affect the tumor microenvironment. Soluble ?-glucan promotes an immunostimulatory environment, which allows enhanced effectiveness of anti-angiogenics, checkpoint inhibitors including non-tumor targeting antibodies.

The invention generally features compositions and methods for expanding long term hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a population of cells. In particular, the invention relates to a method of expanding long term HSCs by culturing an initial population of HSCs with macrophages that promote self-renewal of long term HSCs. The expanded cell population provides a source of cells for therapeutic treatments utilizing HSC transplantation.

Disclosed are compositions derived from the commensal microbiota and related methods for inducing and differentiating naive T cells. In some embodiments, the compositions and methods can be selectively used to generate stable regulatory T-cells (Tregs or iTregs) or stabilize such Tregs to prevent inflammatory responses and instead promote antigen tolerance. Alternatively, in other aspects, select compositions can be used to promote pro-inflammatory T cell development, such as through the induced development and stabilization of Th1 and Th7 cells.

A method for treating a disease, disorder, condition or injury of the Central Nervous System (CNS) in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to said subject a therapeutically effective amount of an active ingredient, such as a non-encephalitogenic or weakly encephalitogenic combination of a Th1 adjuvant and a CNS-specific antigen, causing activation of the choroid plexus of said subject and maintaining said activation by reducing immunosuppression and establishing Th1-type immune response at the choroid plexus thus allowing either anti-inflammatory immune cells or immune cells which acquire a healing phenotype at the cerebrospinal fluid to pass through the choroid plexus, and accumulate at a site of damage in the CNS caused by said disease, disorder, condition or injury is provided.

Herein is reported a method for co-cultivating one or more B-cells comprising the step of incubating the one or more B-cells with EL4-B5 cells, whereby the EL4-B5 cells have been obtained/are from a cultivation of EL4-B5 cells that has a cell density of from 600,000 cells/ml up to 1,500,000 cells/ml.

Novel MSC stem-cell culture and therapy methods and culture medium compositions for the purpose of inducing, activating, or priming discrete uniform cell phenotypes to selectively promote or suppress inflammation and immunity, yielding polarized, primed, activated, or induced cells used in cell-based therapy.

The invention is in the field of medical sciences. It provides means and methods for the treatment of cancer. More in particular, it provides cells and cell lines that can be developed into fully functional dendritic cells. These cells endogenously express cancer-specific antigens, which makes them particularly suited for the treatment of different kinds of cancer. More in particular, the invention relates to a precursor cell line for dendritic cells called DC-One as deposited at the DSMZ under accession number DSMZ ACC3189 on Nov. 15, 2012.

The present invention contemplates dendritic cell compositions. The dentritic cell compositions employ MHC class-II targeting signals fused to an antigen or fragment thereof to obtain MHC II presentation of the antigen or fragment thereof. In particular, the invention refers to a dendritic cell vaccine comprising dendritic cells expressing a MHC class-II targeting signal fused to an antigen or fragment thereof. Dendritic cell vaccines for the stimulation of an immune response against melanoma-associated antigen are also described.

The present invention contemplates methods for the generation of human antigen-specific T lymphocytes. The methods employ MHC class-II targeting signals fused to an antigen or fragment thereof to obtain MHC class presentation of RNA coded proteins. Accordingly, the present invention concerns expression vectors comprising MHC class-II targeting signal and at least one antigen or fragment thereof and its use for the in vitro generation of antigen-specific T lymphocytes. T cell clones and T cell receptors (TCRs) specific for tumor antigens or viral antigens are also described.

Described are compositions of matter, protocols, and treatment means for induction of immune mediated killing in dogs suffering from cancer. The invention provides means of extracting peripheral blood from a canine patient, expanding immunocytes capable of killing cancer cells in vitro, and re-administering said immunocytes into a patient in need of therapy. In one embodiment, immunocytes expanded are T cells possessing tumor cytotoxic activity induced by stimulation of NKG2D.