The invention provides compositions and methods of treating subjects afflicted with a photoreceptor disorder. Methods for treating a subject suffering from a disorder characterized by photoreceptor cell degeneration are provided, wherein a gene encoding a photosensitive protein is introduced into a retinal cell of a subject. In one aspect of the invention, the retinal cells which receive the photosensitive protein include non-photoreceptor cells such as horizontal cells, amacrine cells, bipolar cells, and ganglion cells.

The present invention generally relates to an immunogenic construct,useful for redirecting an EBV-existing immune response towards an undesired target cell and/or microorganism, to methods for preparing said conjugate, to a pharmaceutical applications comprising said conjugate, and to medical applications thereof.

Provided are antigenic compositions and uses thereof that include at least two human herpesvirus (HHV) polypeptides involved in mediating HHV binding, fusion, and entry into host cells, such as gp350, gH, gL, and gB, or nucleic acids encoding the polypeptides. The two HHV polypeptides comprise any combination of: a gB polypeptide; a gp350 polypeptide; a gL polypeptide; and a gH polypeptide, and optionally any one or more of the following polypeptides: gp42, gM, gN, gl, gC, gE, gD, ORF68, BMRF-2, BDLF2, UL128, UL130, UL131A, and gpK8.1. Also disclosed are methods of inducing an immune response or treating or preventing O an HHV infection in a subject by administering to the subject at least two of the HHV polypeptides or nucleic acid(s) encoding the same. Methods of passively transferring immunity using high-titer anti-HHV antibodies or immune cells are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to prophylactic and/or therapeutic vaccines that contain Newcastle disease virus (NDV) virus-like particles (VLPs) comprising one or more Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) antigens. In one embodiment, the invention provides a recombinant virus-like particle (VLP) comprising, in operable combination, a) Newcastle disease virus (NDV) matrix (M) protein, and b) one or more Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) antigens. The invention's prophylactic and/or therapeutic vaccines are useful for preventing and/or treating infection with EBV and/or disease associated Epstein-Barr Virus, such as cancer.

Vaccines are provided that elicit neutralizing antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Some vaccines comprise nanoparticles that display envelope proteins from EBV on their surface. The nanoparticles comprise fusion proteins comprising a monomeric subunit of a self-assembly protein, such as ferritin, joined to at least a portion of an EBV envelope protein. The fusion proteins self-assemble to form the envelope protein-displaying nanoparticles. Such vaccines can be used to vaccinate an individual against infection by different types of Epstein-Barr viruses as well as Epstein-Barr viruses that are antigenically divergent from the virus from which the EBV envelope protein was obtained. Also provided are fusion proteins and nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins.

The invention provides Epstein-Barr Virus antigen polynucleotides, polypeptides and vectors; as well as immunogenic compositions comprising the same. It includes the use of Epstein-Barr Virus antigen constructs to produce vaccines for treating and preventing Epstein-Barr Virus infections and Epstein-Barr Virus-associated diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.