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.

Compositions and methods are provided relating to HCV E2 protein and modifications thereto which enhance the immunogenicity of the protein for vaccine development with respect to the generation of a neutralizing immune response.

Embodiments described herein relate to combinatorial compositions and uses thereof, for example, as vaccine adjuvant compositions, for enhancing immune response, for inducing differentiation of nave T cells to differentiate into IFN-γ-producing T cells, and for preventing and treating infections. The combinatorial composition comprises TLR and CLR agonists. The combinatorial composition comprises at least one TLR4 agonist and at least one Dectin-1 agonist, wherein the at least TLR4 agonist is monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) or glycopyranosyl lipid A (GLA), or the combinatorial composition comprises at least one TLR7/8 agonist and at least one Mincle agonist.

Several needle assemblies and intracellular delivery devices that are used for the delivery of prophylactic and/or therapeutic material (i.e., delivered agents) into a tissue of a subject are disclosed. Preferably, the needle assemblies and/or the intracellular delivery devices comprise needles and/or needle electrodes, which are disposed in an array (e.g., a Y-type array having three outer needles and a center needle), wherein each needle in the array has a closed end and a plurality of apertures along each needle barrel, and the apertures on the needle barrels of the outer needles of the array are positioned to deliver the delivered agent toward the apertures of the center needle and/or an adjacent needle, but not outside of the active zone defined by the area within the needle array and the apertures on the needle barrel of the center needle are positioned to deliver the delivered agent toward the outer needles.

Modified non-human mammalian hepatoma cell lines that express hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigens and which are capable of generating tumours in a syngeneic animal model are provided. The cell lines are generated by genomic integration of an expression construct that comprises one or more HCV antigen-encoding sequences under the control of a constitutive promoter. The expression construct further comprises a selectable marker and a reporter gene under the control of the same promoter. The cell lines are useful for testing prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against HCV either in vitro or in vivo.

The present disclosure relates to constructs useful in expressing biotinylated monomers and tetramers produced from these monomers. Specifically, the disclosure provides a construct useful in expressing biotinylated antigen monomers, said construct comprising a viral protein of an ectodomain of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein E2 or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) gp140. Further disclosed are methods for production and use of these tetramers in identifying and isolating antigen specific B cells and cloning antibodies thereto.

The present invention relates to novel adenovirus strains with an improved seroprevalence. In one aspect, the present invention relates to isolated polypeptides of adenoviral capsid proteins such as hexon, penton and fiber protein and fragments thereof and polynucleotides encoding the same. Also provided is a vector comprising the isolated polynucleotide according to the invention and adenoviruses comprising the isolated polynucleotides or polypeptides according to the invention and a pharmaceutical composition comprising said vector, adenovirus, polypeptide and/or polynucleotide. The invention also relates to the use of the isolated polynucleotides, the isolated polypeptides, the vector, the adenoviruses and/or the pharmaceutical composition for the therapy or prophylaxis of a disease.

The invention provides a method for the prophylaxis or treatment of hepatitis C in a mammal with a peptide-bound liposome wherein the peptide contains a partial amino acid sequence having a length of not less than 9 amino acids in the amino acid sequence of hepatitis C virus NS3 protein, has a length of 9 to 11 amino acids, and is capable of inducing cytotoxic T lymphocytes; the liposome contains a phospholipid containing an acyl group having 14 to 24 carbon atoms and one unsaturated bond or a hydrocarbon group having 14 to 24 carbon atoms and one unsaturated bond, and a liposome stabilizer; and the peptide is bound to the surface of the liposome. The invention also provides a cytotoxic T lymphocyte activator containing the peptide-bound liposome, as well as a hepatitis C virus vaccine.

The present disclosure provides affinity tagged heterodimeric polypeptides comprising a hepatitis C virus (HCV) E1 polypeptide and an HCV E2 polypeptide, where one or both of the E1 and E2 polypeptides comprises an affinity tag. The present disclosure provides a method of producing an affinity tagged E1/E2 heterodimer of the present disclosure. The present disclosure provides methods of producing untagged HCV E1/E2 heterodimers. The present disclosure provides HCV E1/E2 heterodimers, compositions comprising same, and methods of inducing an immune response to HCV.

Disclosed herein are alphavirus vectors that include neoantigen-encoding nucleic acid sequences derived from a tumor of a subject. Also disclosed are nucleotides, cells, and methods associated with the vectors including their use as vaccines.