The technology relates in part to methods for controlling the activity or elimination of therapeutic cells using molecular switches that employ distinct heterodimerizer ligands, in conjunction with other multimeric ligands. The technology may be used, for example to activate or eliminate cells used to promote engraftment, to treat diseases or condition, or to control or modulate the activity of therapeutic cells that express chimeric antigen receptors or recombinant T cell receptors.

Described herein are engineered nucleases comprising mutations in the cleavage domain (e.g., FokI or homologue thereof) and/or DNA binding domain (zinc finger protein, TALE, single guide RNA) such that on-target specificity is increased.

Provided are a blood coagulation factor IX fusion protein with a prolonged circulation half-life, a conjugate thereof, a pharmaceutical composition containing same and the use of same in treating hemorrhagic diseases (such as hemophilia B).

Variants of chymosin with improved milk-clotting properties are disclosed.

Provided herein are methods for purifying recombinant A Disintegrin-like and Metallopeptidase with Thrombospondin Type 1 Motif 13 (ADAMTS13) protein from a sample. The method comprises enriching for ADAMTS13 protein by chromatographically contacting the sample with hydroxyapatite under conditions that allow ADAMTS13 protein to appear in the eluate or supernatant from the hydroxylapatite. The methods may further comprise tandem chromatography with a mixed mode cation exchange/hydrophobic interaction resin that binds ADAMTS13 protein. Additional optional steps involve ultrafiltration/diafiltration, anion exchange chromatography, cation exchange chromatography, and viral inactivation. Also provided herein are methods for inactivating virus contaminants in protein samples, where the protein is immobilized on a support. Also provided herein are compositions of ADAMTS13 prepared according to said methods.

Described are nucleic acid regulatory elements that are able to enhance liver-specific expression of genes, methods employing these regulatory elements and uses of these elements. Expression cassettes and vectors containing these nucleic acid regulatory elements are also disclosed. These are particularly useful for applications using gene therapy.

A method of treating a patient who has hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), colorectal carcinoma (CRC), glioblastoma (GB), gastric cancer (GC), esophageal cancer, NSCLC, pancreatic cancer (PC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer (PCA), ovarian cancer (OC), melanoma, breast cancer (BRCA), CLL, Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), SCLC, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), AML, gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma (GBC, CCC), urinary bladder cancer (UBC), and uterine cancer (UEC) includes administering to said patient a composition containing a population of activated T cells that selectively recognize cells in the patient that aberrantly express a peptide. A pharmaceutical composition contains activated T cells that selectively recognize cells in a patient that aberrantly express a peptide, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, in which the T cells bind to the peptide in a complex with an MHC class I molecule, and the composition is for treating the patient who has HCC, CRC, GB, GC, esophageal cancer, NSCLC, PC, RCC, BPH, PCA, OC, melanoma, BRCA, CLL, MCC, SCLC, NHL, AML, GBC, CCC, UBC, and/or UEC. A method of treating a patient who has HCC, CRC, GB, GC, esophageal cancer, NSCLC, PC, RCC, BPH, PCA, OC, melanoma, BRCA, CLL, MCC, SCLC, NHL, AML, GBC, CCC, UBC, and/or UEC includes administering to said patient a composition comprising a peptide in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, thereby inducing a T-cell response to the HCC, CRC, GB, GC, esophageal cancer, NSCLC, PC, RCC, BPH, PCA, OC, melanoma, BRCA, CLL, MCC, SCLC, NHL, AML, GBC, CCC, UBC, and/or UEC.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to methods and compositions useful for in vivo and/or in vitro enzyme profiling. In some embodiments, the disclosure provides methods of in vivo enzymatic processing of exogenous molecules followed by detection of signature molecules as representative of the presence of active enzymes associated with diseases or conditions. In some embodiments, the disclosure provides compositions and in vitro methods for localization of enzymatic activity in a tissue sample.

Non-human animals, tissues, cells, and genetic material are provided that comprise a modification of an endogenous non-human heavy chain immunoglobulin sequence and that comprise an ADAM6 activity functional in a mouse, wherein the non-human animals express a human immunoglobulin heavy chain variable domain and a cognate human immunoglobulin λ light chain variable domain.

In order to provide a membrane protein production method which does not require the step of solubilizing a membrane protein and which allows the membrane protein having an excellent quality to be obtained with a high yield, a method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: a step (a) of preparing a reaction solution for cell-free protein synthesis, the reaction solution containing (i) a template nucleic acid which encodes the membrane protein, (ii) a lipid, and (iii) a detergent which is contained at a concentration equal to or higher than a critical micelle concentration; and a step (b) of synthesizing the membrane protein while the concentration of the detergent in the reaction solution is maintained at a concentration equal to or higher than a critical micelle concentration.