The present invention relates to therapeutic and prophylactic methods based on inhibition of CIS in NK cells. In particular, the present invention relates to treating or preventing a NK-responsive condition by administering to a subject a CIS inhibitor, or administering CIS-inhibited NK cells. The invention further relates to methods for identifying a CIS inhibitor, and for determining a likelihood of cancer response to treatment with CIS inhibition.

Disclosed are methods for conducting diagnostic tests for the detection of the inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Also described are methods for monitoring a patient by administering tests of the present invention. Also described are methods for monitoring patient's treatment by administering tests of the present invention. Also described are methods for evaluating the effectiveness of a drug or a drug candidate by administering tests of the present invention to samples from patients, animal models, and cell cultures treated with a drug or a drug candidate. Also disclosed are methods for determining the usefulness of analytes, e.g. cytokines, for acting as diagnostic and monitoring markers for inflammatory bowel disease in the various methods of the invention.

Isolated binding proteins, e.g., antibodies or antigen binding portions thereof, which bind to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), e.g., human TNF-α, and related antibody-based compositions and molecules are disclosed. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the antibodies, as well as therapeutic and diagnostic methods for using the antibodies.

Specific peptides, and derived ionization characteristics of those peptides from Death Receptor 5 (DR5) protein are provided that are particularly advantageous for quantifying the DR5 protein directly in biological samples that have been fixed in formalin by the method of Selected Reaction Monitoring/Multiple Reaction Monitoring (SRM/MRM) mass spectrometry. Such biological samples are chemically preserved and fixed wherein the biological sample is selected from tissues and cells treated with formaldehyde containing agents/fixatives including formalin-fixed tissue/cells, formalin-fixed/paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue/cells, FFPE tissue blocks and cells from those blocks, and tissue culture cells that have been formalin fixed and or paraffin embedded. A protein sample is prepared from a biological sample using the Liquid Tissue™ reagents and protocol, and the DR5 protein are quantitated in the Liquid Tissue™ sample by the method of SRM/MRM mass spectrometry by quantitating in the protein sample at least one or more of the peptides described for one or more of the DR5 protein. These peptides can be quantitated if they reside in a modified or in an unmodified form. An example of a modified form of a DR5 peptide is phosphorylation of a tyrosine, threonine, serine, and/or other amino acid residues within the peptide sequence.

Methods and compositions for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (“MS”) in an individual or the predisposition or risk of MS, and for the prediction of the response to treatment of MS in an individual. More particularly, methods and compounds for the use of clinical, neuroradiological, genetic, biological and/or immunological markers as prognostic indicators, diagnostic markers, or predictors of response to MS therapy.

Subject of the invention is a composition comprising at least one fragment of the peptide ESAT-6 and at least one fragment of the peptide CFP-10. Preferably, the fragments comprise at least two sets of peptides, a first set comprising at least one peptide of from about 7 to 14 amino acid residues in length and a second set comprising at least one peptide of from 16 amino acid residues or greater. The invention also relates to diagnostic methods using the composition.

The present system and method are useful for the removal of immune inhibitors such as soluble TNF receptors from the body fluid of cancer patients. In some embodiments, soluble TNF-Receptors 1 and 2 are selectively removed from plasma at 80% or more efficiency. In some embodiments, the system includes an immobilized capture ligand of a single chain TNFα. The system and method are useful for the treatment of different cancer types, stages and severity.

The present invention relates to an assay for determining endogenous levels of analyte in vivo. In particular, the present invention is directed to an assay for determining endogenous levels of stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) isoforms in vivo.

Embodiments are directed to methods of examining preimplantation factor (PIF) binding to a subject's circulating immune cells as a marker for immune dysregulation. Some embodiments are directed to methods of detecting a level of immune dysregulation sufficient to cause recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), methods of detecting a level of immune dysfunction sufficient to cause endometriosis, and methods of detecting a level of immune dysfunction comprising administering an effective amount of PIF or an analog thereof, and examining its binding to circulating immune cells. Within those methods, an about twenty percent change in PIF binding to a subject's circulating immune cells indicates a level of immune dysfunction.

Described herein are methods and kits for performing plasmon-enhanced fluoro-dot assays. These assays enable observing a correlation between a chemical stimulus and a biological response of cultured cells in vitro.