An isolated population of cells comprising non-GVHD inducing anti-third party cells having a central memory T-lymphocyte (Tcm) phenotype is provided. The cells being tolerance-inducing cells and capable of homing to the lymph nodes following transplantation. Methods of generating same, use of same and methods of treatment are also provided.

Methods and compositions are provided for combined transplantation of a solid organ and hematopoietic cells to a recipient, where tolerance to the graft is established through development of a persistent mixed chimerism. An individual with persistent mixed chimerism, usually for a period of at least six months, is able to withdraw from the use of immunosuppressive drugs after a period of time sufficient to establish tolerance.

The present invention provides an in vitro method for obtaining and purifying regulatory T cells from thymic tissue (or thyTreg cells), which makes it possible to obtain more than 10 billion cells from a single thymus. These thyTregs obtained in the invention have a purity of more than 95% and very high suppressive capacity, survival and viability, in addition to being safe from a clinical viewpoint. The foregoing would not require the use of massive ex vivo cell expansion protocols. The transfer of these thyTreg cells to patients enables immune tolerance induction. Thus, said cells may be used as cell therapy to induce immune tolerance in the treatment and/or prevention of transplant rejections and in autoimmune diseases.

The present invention relates to anticancer extracellular vesicles, a preparation method therefor, and an anticancer composition comprising same. Immune-tolerized extracellular vesicles containing LDHB and PGC-1α of the present invention provide cancer treatment, suppression of cancer metastasis, and cancer prevention technologies by normalizing cancer cell-specific aerobic glycolysis energy metabolic pathway in which lactate and hydrogen ions, which form a tumor microenvironment favorable for immune evasion, proliferation, metastasis and invasion of cancer cells, are produced, thereby enabling tumors to be effectively removed by means of the immune system of a patient.

Disclosed are means, methods, and compositions of matter useful for treatment of pervasive developmental disorders. The treatment includes the use of fibroblasts, modified fibroblasts, and derivatives thereof for reduction of neuroinflammation and/or gastrointestinal inflammation in a patient in need of treatment, such as having a pervasive developmental disorder. Fibroblasts, modified fibroblasts, and derivatives thereof may be administered at a frequency and concentration sufficient to reduce interleukin-17 production in the gut of patients with autism spectrum disorder.

The invention provides methods for treating age-related macular degeneration by administering (i) peptide compositions, (ii) regulatory T-cells from the patient or a compatible donor, or (iii) a combination of regulatory T-cells and said peptide compositions. Also provided are methods for diagnosing age-related macular degeneration and monitoring its progression.

The presently described technology relates to the modulation of specific immune responses to create a protective immunity in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and diseases requiring the transplantation of tissue. In particular, the present technology relates to the supression of immune responses in a targeted fashion, by increasing the functional concentration of the CEACAM1 protein in a target tissue to create a localized protective immunity for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and diseases requiring the transplantation of tissue.

A method of treating or preventing graft versus host disease (GVHD) in a subject receiving a graft comprising hematopoietic cells is provided. The method comprises contacting the graft ex vivo with an amount of a Myxoma Virus effective to inhibit proliferation of T lymphocytes in the graft and to treat or prevent GVHD in the host subject following infusion of the graft into the subject. After the contacting of the graft with the Myxoma Virus, the method comprises transplanting the virus-treated graft into the subject.

A method to treat an autoimmune disease is provided. The method involves administration of interleukin-15 receptor (IL-15R) agonists in an amount effective to ameliorate a symptom of the autoimmune disease. The invention also involves a method to treat an autoimmune disease by ex-vivo expansion of CD44+CD122+Kir+ CD8+ Treg cells and administration of the CD44+CD122+Kir+ CD8+ Treg cells. Compositions comprising CD44+CD122+Kir+ CD8+ Treg cells are also provided. Methods for stimulating an immune response to an antigen are also provided.

The disclosure relates to methods and compositions for improving homing of cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Compositions include compounds described herein as capable of inducing expression by MSCs of cell surface homing ligand molecules such as CD1 la, promoting increased firm adhesion by MSCs in an in vitro shear flow assay, increasing binding to an adhesion molecule such as E-selectin or ICAM-1, and/or demonstrating anti-inflammatory activity upon in vivo systemic administration in cell therapy using human MSCs. Also described are screening methods to identify small molecule compounds for improving a homing function of MSCs.