The present invention relates to methods, systems, and compositions for treating and preventing cancer in a subject with the combination of radiation therapy and antigen presenting cells that have been exposed cancer stem cells or a portion thereof. In certain embodiments, the antigen presenting cells are dendritic cells that have been pulsed with ALDH.sup.high cancer stem cells.

Disclosed are T-cell receptors (TCRs) binding to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) for targeting cancer cells, T-cells expressing same, methods for producing same, and methods for treating cancers using same. Disclosed are TCRs and their variants that bind to HLA class I or II molecules with a peptide, such as MAG-003 have the amino acid sequence of KVLEHVVRV (SEQ ID NO:1). The description further relates to peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods, the immunotherapy of cancer, and tmor-associated T-cell peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumor-associated peptides that can for example serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions that stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, or to stimulate T-cells ex vivo and transfer into patients. Peptides bound to molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), or peptides as such, can also be targets of antibodies, soluble T-cell receptors, and other binding molecules.

The technology relates in part to binding molecules that specifically bind to a polypeptide that is the Isoform 2 of mesothelin, or that specifically bind to an antigenic determinant (epitope) of the isoform 2 of mesothelin, or that specifically bind to polypeptides containing an antigenic determinant (epitope) of the isoform 2 of mesothelin, chimeric PD1 receptors that bind to PD ligands such as PDLs, to polynucleotides including vectors that encode such binding molecules, to ceils presenting such binding molecules and to methods of making such cells, to humanized forms of the binding molecules, and to methods of using such binding molecules, such as for treating cancers (e.g., ovarian cancers and mesotheliomas), including cancers in which the Isoform 2 of mesothelin is specifically expressed and/or upregulated relative to normal tissues.

The present disclosure relates to methods for expanding and increasing the cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells comprising co-culturing, as feeder cells, a population of myeloid leukemia cells engineered to express one or more of membrane-bound IL-21 (mb IL-21) or membrane-bound IL-15 (mbIL-15) in the presence of cytokine support. The present disclosure also relates to a population of acute myeloid leukemia cells engineered to express one or more of membrane-bound IL-21 (mbIL-21) or membrane-bound IL-15 (mbIL-15). The present disclosure also relates to methods of treating cancer employing the step of expanding natural killer cells using feeder cells engineered to express one or more of membrane-bound IL-21 (mbIL-21) or membrane-bound IL-15 (mbIL-15).

The present disclosure provides improved chimeric co-stimulatory receptors (CCRs), fusion proteins, genetically modified immune effector cells, and use of these compositions to treat disease.

The present disclosure relates to identifying novel tumor immune evasion targets. A CRISPR activation screen was employed to identify novel checkpoint inhibitor targets, where upon upregulation, conferred tumor resistance to cytotoxic T cells in model cancer cell lines. Using MAGeCK and FDR analyses to identify candidate genes that were enriched in cancer cells, B3GNT2, MCL1, BCL2A1 and JUNB were identified as the most enriched after a pathway analysis of the top 576 genes prioritized by MAGeCK. Currently, these four genes have not been identified or suggested as possible checkpoint inhibitor targets. Provided herein are methods of targeting the expression or activity of B3GNT2, MCL1, BCL2A1 and JUNB using small molecule agents and/or gene editing methods with the aim of enhancing anti-tumor immunity in subjects in need thereof.

Disclosed herein are chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that target MUC1*. In some embodiments, the CARs have been optimized to reduce T cell exhaustion.

Disclosed herein are chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that target MUC1*. In some embodiments, the CARs have been optimized to reduce T cell exhaustion.

Provided are combination therapies for treating and preventing relapse of a tumor and infectious diseases in a subject, as well as methods for use thereof. The combination therapies comprise an Hsp70 based pharmaceutical ingredient and at least one further immunotherapeutic agent that specifically inhibits and/or preferably binds to an immune checkpoint molecule or tumor immune microenvironment immune regulator. Furthermore, a kit and methods of using the combination therapies of the invention are described.

Described herein are chimeric receptors. Chimeric receptors comprise a cytoplasmic domain; a transmembrane domain; and an extracellular domain. In embodiments, the cytoplasmic domain comprises a cytoplasmic portion of a receptor that when activated polarizes a macrophage. In further embodiments, a wild-type protein comprising the cytoplasmic portion does not comprise the extracellular domain of the chimeric receptor. In embodiments, the binding of a ligand to the extracellular domain of the chimeric receptor activates the intracellular portion of the chimeric receptor. Activation of the intracellular portion of the chimeric receptor may polarize the macrophage into an M1 or M2 macrophage.