Compounds and compositions comprising a gap junction channel or hemichannel blocker or inhibitor, and methods of use thereof, are provided for the treatment or prevention of vascular and other diseases, disorders, and conditions.

The inventive subject matter provides an apparatus for reproducibly fabricating hydrogel-based organ and tumor models inside multi-well plates. For example, tumor models made using the inventive apparatus can be used for studying the progression of cancer, cancer diagnostics, and therapeutic screening. A mold controls the thickness of each hydrogel layer. A photomask controls the size and shape of each hydrogel layer, allowing the hydrogel diameter to be smaller than the diameter of each well so that liquid media can be exchanged around both the sides and top of the hydrogels. A holder aligns the photomask with the multi-well plate, and polymerization is initiated by a light source.

A peptide may include a sequence having 80% or more amino acid identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1, i.e., RPSX.sub.1CNLPVKPGPCX.sub.2GFFSAFYYSQKX.sub.3NKCHSFTYGGCAGNANRFSTX.sub.4EKCRRTC X.sub.5X.sub.6, wherein, X.sub.1 is the amino acid residue F or G, X.sub.2 is any amino acid residue, except a basic amino acid residue, X.sub.3 is the amino acid residue T or D, X.sub.4 is the amino acid residue I, L, or E, (i) X.sub.5 is V and X.sub.6 is G or (ii) X.sub.5 is G and X6 is V, and the amino acid located at position 39 is A. Such peptides may have various diagnostic and therapeutic uses.

The present invention is related to short-term renal injury models and methods for creating these models. The models and methods can be used for identifying, testing or characterizing candidate molecules with respect to their suitability to treat renal injury. The methods comprise a step of inducing, in a test subject, renal injury by administering subcutaneously a bolus of a renal injury inducer, in a dosage sufficiently high to induce renal injury. Different types of readout for renal injury are provided such as albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) determined in a urine sample taken from the subject, or the development of transcutaneous fluorescence after injection of a fluorescent molecule. Based on the readout the degree of renal injury and/or alteration of GFR can be determined.

The present invention relates to use of PAK4 and CRTC1 or the treatment or diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease. Specifically, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease comprising PAK4 (p21-activated kinase 4) or a PAK4 activator as an effective ingredient. In addition, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease comprising a CRTC1 expression enhancer or activator as an effective ingredient, a diagnostic kit for a degenerative brain disease comprising an agent for detecting CRTC1, and a method for screening a substance for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease, comprising (a) applying a candidate drug to brain tissue or brain cells containing CRTC1 gene or CRTC1 protein; (b) measuring the degree of phosphorylation in CRTC1; and (c) determining the candidate drug as a substance for the prevention or treatment of a degenerative brain disease when the measurement in step (b) indicates that the phosphorylation in CRTC1 is increased.

The invention generally relates to methods of screening a sample for cannabinoids.

Provided is a screening method for a laminin 511 expression promoter, which takes the expression of laminin 511 as an indicator. Also provided is an agent for improving skin barrier function, elasticity, hydration and inflammation. This agent includes at least one extract selected from among a group consisting of brown algae, red algae and green algae.

Various methods and compositions for treating age-associated conditions and other medical conditions, such as muscle diseases, type 2 diabetes, and/or obesity are described. Methods of enhancing cellular uptake of NMN and stimulating NAD+ production are further described. Various mammalian cells and mammalian cell lines are described including those comprising a cDNA encoding a Slc12a8 protein. Gene therapy vectors comprising a nucleic acid encoding Slc12a8 and non-human animals comprising an inactivating mutation in a Slc12a8 gene are also disclosed. Also described are methods for screening a candidate compound to identify compounds that promote NMN transport.

A method for developing capture agents for target proteins employs a compound library to find cyclic peptide sequences that bind the target protein. The target protein is also reacted with a clickable group-provider reagent to provide the protein with clickable groups. The compounds in the library are provided with complementary clickable groups that bind the clickable group on the target protein when the peptide sequences bind the target protein. In some embodiments, the cyclic peptide sequences that bind the target protein are incorporated into constructs having one or more arms that can serve as capture agents or potential treatments against the pathogens from which the target protein is derived. Some embodiments provide pharmaceutical compositions for immunoassays, diagnostics, therapeutics or the like, that employ the constructs.

The present disclosure provides a high-throughput screening system and method for identification of novel drugs and drug targets. The method enables large-scale analysis of interactions between allogeneic pairs of target cells and immune cells by using an immune-bridge protein, library of guide RNA, and/or 3D tumor model.