Disclosed herein are methods and exemplary compositions associated with virus purification, exemplary aspects of which may include harvesting viral and antigenic substances from source organisms; and a purification platform comprising chemical separation and size-difference separation for the removal of contaminants, debris and impurities from the viral and protein (e.g. antigenic, including influenza hemagglutinin antigens) substances, as well as their concentration and collection.

The invention relates to recombinant measles virus expressing Lassa virus polypeptides, and concerns in particular immunogenic LASV particles expressed by a measles virus and/or virus like particles (VLPs) that contain proteins of a Lassa virus. These particles are recombinant infectious particles able to replicate in a host after an administration. The invention provides means, in particular nucleic acid constructs, vectors, cells and rescue systems to produce these recombinant infectious particles. The invention also relates to the use of these recombinant infectious particles, in particular under the form of a composition, more particularly in a vaccine formulation, for the treatment or prevention of an infection by Lassa virus.

Provided herein are methods of treating cancer by activating resident memory T cells using one or more antigenic peptides.

PD-1 antagonists are disclosed that can be used to reduce the expression or activity of PD-1 in a subject. An immune response specific to an infectious agent or to tumor cells can be enhanced using these PD-1 antagonists in conjunction with an antigen from the infectious agent or tumor. Thus, subjects with infections, such as persistent infections can be treated using PD-1 antagonists. In addition, subjects with tumors can be treated using the PD-1 antagonists. In several examples, subjects can be treated by transplanting a therapeutically effective amount of activated T cells that recognize an antigen of interest and by administering a therapeutically effective amount of a PD-1 antagonist.

Compositions and methods are described for generating an immune response to an arenavirus. The compositions and methods described herein relate to a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector encoding one or more viral antigens for generating a protective immune response to a member of genus Arenavirus (such as a member of species Lassa virus) in the subject to which the vector is administered. The compositions and methods of the present invention may be used to prevent and/or treat an infection caused by arenavirus.

The invention relates to an infectious arenavirus particle that is engineered to contain a genome with the ability to amplify and express its genetic information in infected cells but unable to produce further infectious progeny particles in normal, not genetically engineered cells. One or more of the four arenavirus open reading frames glycoprotein (GP), nucleoprotein (NP), matrix protein Z and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase L are removed or mutated to prevent replication in normal cells but still allowing gene expression in arenavirus vector-infected cells, and foreign genes coding for an antigen or other protein of interest or nucleic acids modulating host gene expression are expressed under control of the arenavirus promoters, internal ribosome entry sites or under control of regulatory elements that can be read by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, cellular RNA polymerase I, RNA polymerase II or RNA polymerase III. The modified arenaviruses are useful as vaccines and therapeutic agents for a variety of diseases.

The present application relates generally to genetically modified arenaviruses that are suitable for treating solid tumors, for example, via intratumoral administration. The arenaviruses described herein may be suitable for vaccines and/or treatment of solid tumors and/or for the use in immunotherapies. In particular, provided herein are methods and compositions for treating a solid tumor by administering a first arenavirus alone or in combination with another agent, including a second arenavirus, wherein the first and/or second arenavirus has been engineered to include a nucleotide sequence encoding a tumor antigen, tumor associated antigen or antigenic fragment thereof.

The present invention relates to self-assembling protein nanoparticles encapsulating immunostimulatory nucleid acids. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of such nanoparticles for vaccination.

Disclosed are chimeric polypeptides based on viral membrane fusion proteins. More particularly, the present invention discloses chimeric polypeptides that comprise a virion surface exposed portion of a viral fusion protein and a heterologous structure-stabilizing moiety, and to complexes of those chimeric polypeptides. The present invention also discloses the use of these complexes in compositions and methods for eliciting an immune response to a fusion protein of an enveloped virus, or complex of the fusion protein, and/or for treating or preventing an enveloped virus infection. The present invention further discloses the use of the heterologous structure-stabilizing moiety for oligomerizing heterologous molecules of interest.

The present invention provides novel nanoparticle presented vaccine compositions that are stabilized with a locking domain. Various immunogens can be employed in the preparation of the vaccine compositions, including viral immunogens such as HIV-1 and Ebola viral immunogens, and non-viral immunogens such as immunogens derived from bacteria, parasites and mammalian species. The invention also provides methods of using such vaccine compositions in various therapeutic applications, e.g., for preventing or treating viral infections.