The present invention relates to methods for identifying patients a subject at risk of developing an autoimmune or inflammatory disorder, as well as methods of prevention of development of an autoimmune or inflammatory disorder, comprising administering GABA, or a GABA receptor agonist, to a subject so identified. The invention furthermore relates to methods for assessing a subject's susceptibility to treatment with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or a GABA receptor agonist, as well as biomarkers to be used in the assessment of the response of a GABA treatment.

Disclosed herein are protocols, isolation means, and compositions of matter useful for identifying mesenchymal stem cells possessing enhanced clinical activity in treatment of autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Additionally, markers associated with said enhanced mesenchymal stem cell activity against autoimmunity can be utilized to identify donors whose mesenchymal stem cells possess superior efficacy compared to mesenchymal stem cells from donors who lack said markers associated with said enhanced efficacy in treatment of autoimmunity, such as RA.

The present disclosure is directed to bispecific antibodies which bind to both PD-L1 and PD-L2, and methods of using such antibodies to treat cancers, such as those that express or overexpress PD-L1, PD-L2, or both.

Described is an autologous primary immune cell assay in which an individual's own blood cells may be functionally screened against individual antigens, e.g., T cell epitopes, of interest simultaneously without HLA haplotype-specific reagent. Antigen reactivities are linked to individual T cells using an oligonucleotide-tagging hashing tracking system, which is later deconvolved by single cell sequencing.

The present disclosure provides materials and methods for the delivery of therapeutic nucleic cells (and imaging agents) to tissues.

Provided herein, in some embodiments, are compositions and methods for producing a molecular expression map of a biological sample using Deterministic Barcoding in Tissue for spatial omics sequencing (DBiT-seq).

The present invention provides systems, kits, and methods for analyzing cell-cell interactions, such as transmembrane proteins binding to surface displayed variable regions, via discrete entity (e.g., droplet) microfluidics. In certain embodiments, a plurality of first discrete entities and a plurality of second discrete entities are merged on a substrate to generate a plurality of merged fixed entities (e.g., fixed via an electrical force), each of which contains one cell expressing a transmembrane (TM) protein and labeled clonal cells displaying a heterologous antibody variable region. In certain embodiments, any binding of the clonal cells to the TM expressing cell is detected in each merged fixed entity, and the clonal cells found to bind are treated in order to sequence the nucleic acid encoding the variable region.

The present invention provides a device for isolating target biomolecules or cells from samples, particularly biological samples. In particular, the device comprises a loading mixture, which contains the biological sample and a first binding entity that specifically binds to the target biomolecule or target cell; and a micro-channel coated with a second binding entity that binds directly or indirectly to the first binding entity. Methods of capturing, detecting, and/or evaluating target biomolecules or target cells (e.g. cancer cells) in biological samples are also disclosed.

Methods, devices, kits and compositions for detecting the presence or absence of one or more helminthic coproantigens in a sample are disclosed herein. The methods, devices, kits and compositions of the present invention may be used to confirm the presence or absence of roundworm, whipworm and/or hookworm in a fecal sample from a mammal and may also be able to distinguish between one or more helminth infections. Confirmation of the presence or absence of roundworm, whipworm and/or hookworm in the mammal may be made, for example, for the purpose of selecting an optimal course of treating the mammal and/or for the purpose of determining whether the mammal has been rid of the infection after treatment has been initiated.

The disclosure provides methods for detecting the concurrent presence of at least two targets within a biological sample. The method includes contacting said biological sample with a first binding agent, said first binding agent operably linked to a first sortase molecule, wherein said first binding agent specifically binds to a first target; contacting said biological simple with a second binding agent, said second binding agent operably linked to a first sortase recognition sequence peptide, wherein said second binding agent specifically binds to a second target; adding a sortase substrate under conditions where a first sortase-mediated ligation of the sortase substrate to the first sortase recognition sequence will produce a ligation product, and detecting the ligation product, wherein detection of said ligation product indicates the concurrent presence of the first target and the second target in the biological sample. Also disclosed are kits comprising reagents for performing the methods as claimed.