The invention provides compositions and methods for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.

Provided are genetically engineered induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and derivative cells thereof expressing a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and methods of using the same. Also provided are compositions, polypeptides, vectors, and methods of manufacturing.

A composition for inducing and/or amplifying T.sub.SCM in vitro, a culture medium including the composition, and a method for inducing and/or amplifying T.sub.SCM in vitro are provided, wherein the composition comprises inducing agents including IL-7 and IL-21. The chimeric antigen receptor T-memory stem cells induced differentiated and amplified by adding the composition can be used directly for reinfusion therapy of patients.

A method of culturing natural killer (NK) cells according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be used in immunotherapy. An additive composition for an NK cell culture medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may inhibit the activity of CD4+ T cells, thereby effectively helping NK cell proliferation and activation.

The present invention relates to: a method for producing immunocytes, specifically induced natural killer T (iNKT) cells that are induced by direct reprogramming of isolated somatic cells, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-iNKT cells into which a CAR gene encoding a CAR is introduced; iNKT cells produced by the method; and a cell therapy composition and a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating cancer, comprising the iNKT cells.

The method according to the present invention can produce, through direct reprogramming, iNKT cells or iNKT cells into which a CAR gene is introduced, from isolated cells so as to simplify the production process and shorten production time, thereby reducing costs, to have excellent NKT cell production efficiency, and to ensure safety according to the production without passing through induced pluripotent stem cells, thereby having an excellent NKT cell production effect distinguished from that of a conventional reprogramming technique. In addition, the iNKT cells or iNKT cells into which a CAR gene is introduced, which are produced by the method, have an excellent cancer cell killing ability, and thus can be effectively used as a cell therapy composition or a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating cancer.

Cell culture media, preservative media or cryopreservation media include a low dose of one or more cytokines, e.g. interleukin-2 (IL-2).

The present disclosure relates to methods that include the use of a first multi-chain chimeric polypeptide and a second multi-chain chimeric polypeptide for stimulating the NK cells, inducing or increasing proliferation of the NK cells, inducing differentiation of the NK cells, and treating a subject in need thereof using activated NK cells.

Several embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and compositions for enhanced expansion of NK cells in culture. In several embodiments, the methods utilize one or more soluble interleukins as culture media supplements at one or more time points during expansion of the NK cell, or other immune cell, the expansion employing a feeder cell population.

Disclosed herein are non-naturally existing novel platelet variants or platelet like cells (PLCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), and derivatives thereof. Composition comprising the same and methods for treatment or prevention of diseases or disorders therewith is also disclosed.

The invention involves generating a T cell response to subdominant antigens and using the cells to therapeutically change the cellular homeostasis and nature of the immune response. In a preferred embodiment, the cells are generated outside of the patient avoiding the influence of the patient's immunologic milieu. By stimulating and growing the T cells from a patient in a tissue culture to one or more subdominant antigens and the transplanting them into the patient, if enough cells are expanded and transplanted, the transplanted cells overwhelm the endogenous dominant T cells in the response to either break or induce immune tolerance or otherwise modify the immune response to the cells or organism expressing that antigen. When the memory cells are established they are then reflective of this new immunodominance hierarchy so that the desired therapeutic effect is long lasting. In effect, the transplantation exogenously generated T cells reactive to the subdominant antigens is recapitulating priming and rebalancing the patient's immune response to target previously subdominant antigens in the cells or organism to produce a therapeutic benefit.