The present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising, or consisting of, the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a nucleic acid sequence of at least 400 bp having at least 80% identity to said sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein said isolated nucleic acid molecule specifically leads to the expression in direction selective retinal ganglion cells of a gene when operatively linked to a nucleic acid sequence coding for said gene.

The present invention provides a process for recovering a viral product from a composition comprising said product and product-related impurities, which process comprises contacting the composition with a functionalised chromatography medium comprising one or more polymer nanofibres, wherein the viral product comprises a plurality of viruses, virus particles/virions, viral cores, membrane-stripped viruses, viral cores with outer membrane(s) removed and/or capsids removed, or proviruses, each of which contains one or more polynucleotides, and wherein the product-related impurities comprise a plurality of viruses, virus particles/virions, virus-like particles, viral cores, membrane-stripped viruses, viral cores with outer membrane(s) removed and/or capsids removed or proviruses, each of which is substantially devoid of polynucleotides.

Methods of treating a malignant glioma in a subject are disclosed. The methods comprise administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a viral vector comprising: (i) a first polynucleotide sequence encoding a Fas-chimera (Fas-c), said first polynucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NOs: 2 and 3; and (ii) a second polynucleotide sequence encoding an endothelial cell-specific promoter or a periendothelial cell-specific promoter.

Methods of treating an adult mammal for an aging-associated impairment are provided. Aspects of the methods include modulating CCR3, e.g., by modulating eotaxin-1/CCR3 interaction, in the mammal in a manner sufficient to treat the mammal for the aging-associated impairment. A variety of aging-associated impairments may be treated by practice of the methods, which impairments include cognitive impairments.

Synthetic adenoviruses with liver detargeting mutations and expressing an adenovirus type 34 (Ad34) fiber protein, or a chimeric fiber protein with an Ad34 knob domain, are described. The synthetic adenoviruses traffic to sites of tumors. Use of the synthetic adenoviruses for delivering diagnostic or therapeutic transgenes to tumors are also described.

Methods of treating an adult mammal for an aging-associated impairment are provided. Aspects of the methods include modulating CCR3, e.g., by modulating eotaxin-1/CCR3 interaction, in the mammal in a manner sufficient to treat the mammal for the aging-associated impairment. A variety of aging-associated impairments may be treated by practice of the methods, which impairments include cognitive impairments.

The present invention relates to polymerase HBV mutant polypeptides comprising a mutated polymerase domain which is functionally disrupted for polymerase activity and fusion proteins comprising such polymerase mutant polypeptide. The present invention also relates to a nucleic acid molecule and an expression vector for expressing said polymerase mutant polypeptide as well as a composition which can be used for eliciting an immune response to HBV with the goal of providing a protective or therapeutic effect against HBV infection.

Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) antigens that elicit an HSV-specific immune response and can be used to treat or prevent HSV infection are provided. Nucleic acid sequences, polypeptides, vectors, and compositions, as well as methods to induce an immune response against HSV, treat or prevent HSV disease, induce a T cell response against HSV, and induce an antibody response against HSV also are provided.

The present invention provides methods of reprogramming cells, for example, directly reprogramming a somatic cell of a first cell type into a somatic cell of a second cell type, are described herein. In particular, the present invention generally relates to methods for reprogramming a cell of an endoderm origin to a cell having pancreatic -cell characteristics. The present invention also relates to an isolated population comprising reprogrammed cells, compositions and their use in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In particular, the present invention relates to reprogramming a cell of an endoderm origin to a cell having pancreatic -cell characteristics by increasing the protein expression of at least one transcription factor selected from Pdx1, Ngn3 or MafA in the cell of endoderm origin to reprogram the cell of an endoderm cell to a cell which exhibits at least one or at least two characteristics of an endogenous pancreatic -cell.

The present invention relates to polymerase HBV mutant polypeptides comprising a mutated polymerase domain which is functionally disrupted for polymerase activity and fusion proteins comprising such polymerase mutant polypeptide. The present invention also relates to a nucleic acid molecule and an expression vector for expressing said polymerase mutant polypeptide as well as a composition which can be used for eliciting an immune response to HBV with the goal of providing a protective or therapeutic effect against HBV infection.