Compositions consisting of bioactive molecules derived from the microbiota of a mammal are provided herein. When administered orally with a colonic delivery system, the compositions are useful for the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases, in particular inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious diseases. The compositions comprise combinations of small molecules and bacterial antigens formulated in colonic delivery systems. Use of the compositions results in any or all of: induction of immune tolerance; strengthening of the gut mucosal barrier integrity; reduction of inflammation; and amelioration of a disease state caused by inflammation, an autoimmune reaction or an infectious agent.

Compositions and methods are provided for killing of cancer stem cells, and for the transplantation of pluripotent stem cells and differentiated cells derived therefrom.

Protein antigens are provided. The protein antigens typically include a peptide antigen conjugated or fused to a chaperone protein to form a “chaperone-antigen” that increases lymph node uptake; improves an immune response; or a combination thereof relative to the peptide antigen alone. The immune response can be, for example, increased antigen-specific proliferation, enhanced cytokine production, stimulation of differentiation and/or effector functions, promotion of survival, rescue from exhaustion and/or anergy of T cells, or a combination thereof. Chaperon-antigens can also be used to induce tolerance and increase immune suppressive responses. In the most preferred embodiments, the peptide antigen is fused to the chaperone protein to form a fusion protein. The “chaperone-antigen” can be combined with an adjuvant to form a vaccine and administered to a subject to modulate an immune response to the antigen. Methods of increasing immune responses, treating cancer and infectious and inducing tolerance are also provided.

The invention provides therapeutic compositions that present an artificial repertoire of mammalian pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonists, so that the pattern of PRR agonists recapitulates a distinct portion of a PRR agonist signature of a mammalian pathogen. The artificial repertoire of PRR agonists may be formulated together in a therapeutic vehicle for combined presentation to an innate immune cell resident in a target tissue in a mammalian host, and the vehicle adapted to deliver the PRR agonists to the target tissue, so as to modulate an immune response.

The invention relates to immunogenic peptides comprising T-cell epitopes and oxidoreductase motifs with increased activity, and their use in regulating the immune response in subjects.

Methods and compositions using artificial antigen presenting cells in immunotherapy. The artificial antigen presenting cells comprise substrate particles bound to endogenous MHC-peptide complexes obtained from one or more cells. Methods include administering the artificial antigen presenting cells to a patient to activate antigen-specific T cells.

The present invention relates to a yeast-derived polysaccharide inducing Treg cells and a use thereof and, more particularly, to a polysaccharide comprising mannan and β-glucan, an composition for immunomodulation comprising the polysaccharide as an active ingredient, a pharmaceutical composition or food comprising the polysaccharide as an active ingredient for prevention or treatment of immune disease or inflammatory disease, a method for preparation of regulatory T cells by using the polysaccharide, a cell therapeutic agent comprising the regulatory T cells prepared by the preparation method as an active ingredient, and a treatment method using same. Even at a low dose, the novel polysaccharide according to the present invention allows the production of tolerogenic antigen presenting cells through the β-glucan and mannan structure retained therein, whereby the novel polysaccharide can induce the differentiation or production of antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Treg cells) to modulate the target immune system with low adverse effects. Therefore, MGCP and the Treg cells induced by the polysaccharide are effective for preventing or treating immune disease or inflammatory disease.

The present invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical compositions of inducing immune tolerance by mucosal vaccination with Fc-coupled antigens. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for inducing tolerance to one antigen of interest in a subject in need thereof, comprising the mucosal administration to the subject of a therapeutically effective amount of a recombinant chimeric construct comprising a FcRn targeting moiety and an antigen-containing moiety.

A method and system for the treatment of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus Kluk (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) to protect them from various life-threatening conditions, including the negative effects of various pesticides, provides Monarch butterflies with the ability to assimilate and degrade pesticides such as neonicotinoids and fipronil. Certain embodiments involve the inoculation of flowers by honey bees with desired bacteria that are able to degrade pesticides, such that when Monarch butterflies visit such flowers, they are exposed to such bacteria, transforming the microbiome of the Monarch butterflies so that pesticides can be degraded, thus enhancing the health of the Monarch butterflies.

The present invention provides methods for treating, preventing or reducing the severity of eosinophilic esophagitis. The methods of the present invention comprise administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutic composition comprising an interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4Rα) inhibitor such as an anti-IL-4Rα antibody.