The application relates to the healing of wounds. Provided herein are methods directed to treatment of hard-to-heal or chronic wounds by sequential administration of M1 and M2 macrophages to the wound site.

Methods are provided for treating blood monocytes to produce functional antigen presenting dendritic cells. An extracorporeal quantity of a subject's blood is treated to separate the blood and produce a leukocyte concentrate comprising monocytes and plasma containing proteins. The leukocyte concentrate comprising monocytes and plasma containing proteins is pumped through a plastic treatment device, such as a photopheresis device. The resulting treated cells may be incubated for a sufficient period of time to allow the monocytes to form dendritic cells, or the treated cells may be reinfused directly to the subject.

Disclosed are compositions and methods of treating muscular dystrophies, including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) through administration of fibroblasts and modified fibroblasts systemically and locally. In certain embodiments, fibroblast cells are utilized for replacement of dystrophin through fusion and/or other means of horizontal gene transfer. In other embodiments, the disclosure teaches the use of fibroblasts for reduction of inflammatory reactions and/or immunological reactions which propagate and enhance myodestructive aspects of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In other embodiments, fibroblasts are utilized as vectors for gene therapy and/or gene modifications approaches.

[Problem] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel pharmaceutical for use in cellular immunotherapy for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases in which Th2-type cytokines are effective, such as cardiovascular disease and the like. [Solution] The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical containing dendritic cells pulsed with ?-galactosylceramide for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases in which Th2-type cytokines are effective, and a method for producing the same.

The present disclosure is in the field of genome engineering, particularly targeted modification of the genome of a hematopoietic stem cell.

The technology described herein is directed to methods and assay related to macrophage differentiation and the role of such in pathogenesis.

Alveolar-like macrophages and a method for generating alveolar-like macrophages from hemangioblasts is provided. The method comprises the steps of: i) culturing the hemangioblasts in a hematopoietic-inducing medium comprising vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), stem cell factor (SCF) and interleukin-3 (IL-3) for a sufficient period of time to generate macrophages, and ii) culturing the macrophages in an alveolar macrophage-inducing medium comprising granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and optionally macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), under suitable conditions and for a sufficient period of time to yield alveolar-like macrophages.

Described herein is a beads-free bioprocessor as an automated and cost-effective T cell processing and manufacturing platform. T cells are a core component in CAR T cell therapies for cancer treatment, but are difficult to manufacture to scale in clinically relevant quantities. The 3D bioprocessor provides an alternative device that is scalable, beads-free, easy-to-use, and cost-effective for using CAR T cell therapy in cancer immunotherapy. Besides CAR T cell application, this platform technology has potential for many other applications such as cancer cell isolation.

The invention provides an in vitro method for inducing macrophage polarization to an M2 phenotype useful for tissue repair. The method described in the present invention comprises the in vitro exposure of macrophages to repeated series of hypoxia-reoxygenation. Activated M2 macrophages obtained by this method overexpress molecules important for tissue remodeling and amelioration of inflammation, such as NGAL and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10). Thus, M2 macrophages obtained by this method are useful as cell therapy for tissue regeneration. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions and kits comprising the M2 macrophages obtained by the described method. The invention further refers to a device for inducing hypoxia and re-oxygenation conditions on isolated macrophages according to the described method.

The present invention relates to the discovery that increases in invariant NKT cell (iNKT) number and/or activity can reduce the incidence or severity of metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. The invention accordingly features methods, kits, and compositions for the treatment of such metabolic disorders by administration of a composition capable of increasing iNKT activity.