Provided herein are systems and methods for characterizing target/ligand engagement. In particular, luciferase-labeled polypeptide targets are used to detect or quantify target/ligand engagement (e.g., within a cell or cell lysate).

In one aspect, methods of diagnosing a subject as having Alzheimer's disease and prognosing a subject as being at risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises determining one or more of the level of expression of rhotekin 2 (RTKN2), the level of expression of microtubule-associated Ser/Thr kinase 4 (MAST4), the level of binding of forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) to the RTKN2 promoter, and the level of binding of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to the MAST4 promoter in a sample from the subject.

Provided herein are compositions and methods for assessing arrestin-dependent signaling. The provided compositions include fusion proteins comprising arrestin polypeptides that bind strongly to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In some instances, the fusion proteins may also bind to non-GPCR proteins, such as single transmembrane receptors and non-receptor proteins. Also provided are nucleic acids, vectors, constructs, and host cells that encode or express such fusion proteins. Also provided are methods of using such fusion proteins to assess arrestin trafficking, localization, and other functions including, for example, arrestin-mediated GPCR signaling as well as non-GPCR protein activity or signaling.

The present invention describes an integrated apparatus that enables identification of migratory cells directly from a specimen. The apparatus only requires a small number of cells to perform an assay and includes novel topographic features which can reliably differentiate between migratory and non-migratory cell populations in a sample. Both the spontaneous and chemotactic migration of cancer cells may be measured to distinguish between subpopulations within a tumor sample. The migratory cells identified using the apparatus and methods of the present invention may be separated and further analyzed to distinguish factors promoting metastasis within the population. Cells in the apparatus can be treated with chemotherapeutic or other agents to determine drug strategies to most strongly inhibit migration. The use of optically transparent materials in some embodiments allows a wide range of imaging techniques to be used for in situ imaging of migratory and non-migratory cells in the apparatus. The apparatus and methods of the present invention are useful for predicting the metastatic propensity of tumor cells and selecting optimal drugs for personalized therapies.

The present invention relates to peptides, proteins, nucleic acids and cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods. In particular, the present invention relates to the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to tumor-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 present invention concerns an ubiquitin ligase inhibitor for use for preventing and/or treating a disease linked with cerebral hypoperfusion, and an in vitro screening method for the identification of a candidate compound suitable for preventing and/or treating a disease linked with cerebral hypoperfusion.

The present invention relates generally to the field of disorders of complement activation. More specifically, the present invention provides methods and compositions useful for identifying patients having a complement-mediated disease that could benefit from treatment with complement inhibitors. As described herein, the present invention utilizes patient sera and flow cytometry in the companion diagnostic assay. More specifically, the present invention comprises evaluating complement activity via cell surface deposition of C5b-9 and, in further embodiments, complement-dependent cell killing (the modified Ham assay) using patient sera.

Methods of preventing or treating Parkinson's disease in subjects are described where drugs are administered to subjects in effective amounts to cause the farnesylation of PARIS and the enhanced expression of PGC-1α in the brain. These methods alleviate the effects of Parkinson's disease in subjects, in part, by preventing the loss of dopamine neurons.

The present invention relates to a system for screening personalized anticancer agents, a method for screening personalized anticancer agents using the system, and an apparatus for screening personalized anticancer agents. When the inventive system for screening personalized anticancer agents is used, an anticancer agent showing an optimal anticancer activity against cancer cells collected from a patient can be selected from a variety of anticancer agents, and it is possible to previously examine a therapeutic response that can appear when the selected anticancer agent is administered into the patient. Thus, the risk of trial and error in cancer therapy can be reduced, and the cost and time required for cancer therapy can be reduced.

The present disclosure relates to an exosome comprising a photocleavable protein and a use thereof, and the exosome according to the present disclosure contains a fusion protein comprising a blue fluorescent protein (TagBFP), a photocleavable protein (mMaple3), and an exosome-specific marker protein (CD9), and it has been found that when light of 405 nm is irradiated to the exosome, the photocleavable protein, mMaple3 is cleaved and thereby the blue fluorescent protein in the exosome can be delivered into a target cell. In addition, it has been found that Cre protein in the exosome can be delivered into an animal organ, when light of 405 nm is irradiated to an exosome containing Cre fusion protein (Cre-mMaple3-CD9). Therefore, the exosome containing the photocleavable protein according to the present disclosure is expected to be useful in the protein treatment field by safely and efficiently delivering various therapeutic proteins into cells.