Nanostructures and nanostructure-based vaccines that display antigens capable of eliciting immune responses to infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and pathogens are provided. Some vaccines are useful for preventing or decreasing the severity of infection with an infectious agent, including, for example and without limitation, lyme disease, pertussis, herpes virus, orthomyxovirus, paramyxovirus, pneumovirus, filovirus, flavivirus, reovirus, retrovirus, meningococcus, or malaria. The antigens may be attached to the core of the nanostructure either non-covalently or covalently, including as a fusion protein or by other means. Multimeric antigens may optionally be displayed along a symmetry axis of the nanostructure. Also provided are proteins and nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins, vaccine compositions, and methods of administration.

The present invention relates to the construction and application of a fusion protein vaccine platform. The present invention provides a vaccine, comprising a fusion protein containing an interferon-target antigen-immunoglobulin Fc region (or antibody) and a Th cell helper epitope. The present invention also relates to use of a fusion protein containing an interferon-target antigen-immunoglobulin Fc region (or antibody) and a Th cell helper epitope in the preparation of prophylactic or therapeutic compositions. The vaccine of the present invention can be produced by eukaryotic cell expression systems to prepare wild-type and various mutant antigen vaccines, and vaccination by means of subcutaneous/muscular or nasal or other routes can lead to a strong immune response to a body. The vaccine of the present invention can be used as a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine.

The present invention provides herpesviruses, such as EBV, which lack at least one viral miRNA. Such herpesviruses lacking at least one viral miRNA are advantageously not capable of packaging their genome into the capsid, thereby producing HVLPs, which are substantially free of their herpesvirus genome or the nucleic acid molecule encoding the proteinaceous part of the HVLP and viral miRNA. Such HVLPs may be used as vaccine.

This disclosure relates to antigenic EBV polypeptides and their use in eliciting antibodies against EBV. Also disclosed are antigenic polypeptides comprising an EBV polypeptide and a ferritin protein.

Viral vectors are provided for use as genetic immunotherapeutic agents, including preventive and therapeutic vaccines as well as compositions to enhance cellular immune responses. The vectors are particularly useful for treating or preventing cancer and infectious diseases. The vectors include lentiviral vectors that encode one or more antigens and an adjuvant, and optionally may encode one or more soluble checkpoint inhibitor molecules. The adjuvant is a fusion protein including latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) from Epstein Barr virus with in which the intracytoplasmic domain has been replaced by human IPS1 or a variant thereof capable of activating the STING pathway. The vector-encoded sequences are codon optimized for human expression.

The present disclosure is directed to compositions and methods of treating Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in a human subject. A method of treating TNBC in a human subject includes administering a therapeutically effective amount of a neoantigen vaccine composition comprising a fusion protein comprising at least one TNBC-associated neoantigen epitope joined to a mutant ubiquitin protein, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding such a protein.

The invention provides a method for manufacturing a HEK293 cell line, which is capable of producing Epstein-Barr virus-like particles (EB-VLPs), as well as the HEK293 cell line obtainable by said method. The invention is further directed to a method for manufacturing EB-VLPs and a composition comprising EB-VLPs obtainable by said method for manufacturing EB-VLPs. Additionally, the invention provides a kit comprising EB-VLPs generated according to the method for manufacturing EB-VLPs. Further, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a vaccine as well as the vaccine containing EB-VLPs obtainable by said method for manufacturing EB-VLPs.

Brachyury protein can be used to induce Brachyury-specific CD4+ T cells in vivo and ex vivo. It is also disclosed that Brachyury protein can be used to stimulate the production of both Brachyury-specific CD4+ T cells and Brachyury-specific CD8+ T cells in a subject, such as a subject with cancer. In some embodiments, the methods include the administration of a Brachyury protein. In additional embodiments, the methods include the administration of a nucleic acid encoding the Brachyury protein, such as in a non-pox non-yeast vector. In further embodiments, the methods include the administration of host cells expressing the Brachyury protein.

The present invention relates to a polypeptide comprising (i) a binding peptide binding to at least one surface marker of an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell, and (ii) an immunogenic peptide comprising at least one T-cell epitope; and to means and methods related thereto.

The present invention concerns methods of generating CTLs that are able to target at least one antigen from two or more viruses. The method includes exposing mixtures of peptides for different antigens to the same plurality of PBMCs and, at least in certain aspects, expanding the cells in the presence of IL4 and IL7.