An assay and a method for identifying a prebiotic to treat a subject in need thereof to promote intestinal barrier integrity or to blunt an inflammatory response are provided.

The current invention provides methods to identify 92T-cell receptors (92TCR) that mediate anti-tumour responses. Surprisingly, it was now found that the CDR3 regions of the 9-T-cell receptor chain and the 2-T-Cell receptor chain MICR chain) are of importance. Based on these findings, combinatorial-TCR-chain-exchange (CTE) is proposed as an efficient method for identifying 92TCRs that mediate anti-tumour responses. Using the method of the invention, specific sequences of the respective 9TCR and 2TCR chains were identified that mediate anti-tumour responses. Hence, the invention further provides for specific 92TCRs, or fragments thereof, that may be used e.g. in diagnostics or treatment of cancer. The invention further provides for nucleic acid sequences, genetic constructs and retroviral vectors that can be used to express the 92TCRs according to the invention.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation in affected organs. We have developed a blood test using mycobacterial catalase-peroxidase that has a high positive predictive value for confirming a diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

This invention provides the field of therapeutics. Most specifically present invention provides methods of generating in vitro engineered dendritic cells conditionally expressing interleukin-12 (IL-12) under the control of a gene expression modulation system in the presence of activating ligand and uses for therapeutic purposes in animals including human.

Disclosed herein is a method for selecting a subject for bladder cancer therapy based on determining from the sample from a subject with bladder cancer, the presence, absence, or level of a biomarker that correlates with interleukin 18 binding protein (IL-18 BP) expression by bladder cells from a subject. Also disclosed herein are compositions comprising an effective amount of at least one of interleukin 18 (IL-18) and an inhibitor of IL-18 binding protein (IL-18 BP), wherein the inhibitor causes at least one of reduces binding of IL-18 BP to IL-18 and reduces IL-18 BP levels. The compositions may be used in methods for treating bladder cancer, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of at least one of IL-18, an inhibitor of IL-18 BP, an antagonist of an activator of IL-18 BP, and an agonist of a down-regulator of IL-18 BP.

The present invention relates to combination therapies useful for the treatment of cancer. In particular, the invention relates to a therapeutic combination which comprises a PD-1 antagonist, an ATR inhibitor and a platinating agent.

A diagnostic kit for evaluating stress hormones, and methods of use and manufacture thereof.

Nanoparticle-based compositions, assays, kits, methods and platforms for delivering an antigen (peptides, proteins) or a nucleic acid encoding an antigen to professional APCs (PAPCs) result in the generation of autologous APCs that present a natural peptide repertoire of the antigen for use in assessing the efficacy of a vaccine (e.g., a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to a particular antigen) or other therapy or intervention (cell-based therapy, adjuvant therapy, etc.). The compositions, kits, assays and methods also can be used for delivering a drug or biologic or portion thereof to APCs for assessing the immunogenicity of drugs and biologics. The composition, kits, assays and methods involve the combined use of MHC targeting, universal DR binding peptides (e.g., PADRE, HA) with charged (e.g., positively-charged) highly branched polymeric dendrimers (e.g., PAMAM and other dendrimers) as vehicles for the targeted delivery of nucleic acids, peptides, biologics, drugs, or polypeptides to APCs, giving rise to a new nanoparticle-based method for assessing the immune response (CTL response) to a vaccination or other therapy or intervention, or for assessing the immunogenicity of a biologic or drug. Targeted delivery of nucleic acids, peptides, biologics, drugs, or polypeptides to APCs for effective expression and processing generates more physiologically relevant target antigens for evaluation of cell-mediated immune responses to vaccination, for example, and provides a low-cost approach for rapid generation of reagents and development of assay systems for more accurate profiling of immunological responses to infection, immunization, and other therapies or interventions. Immunoevaluation kits using targeted nanoparticle-based antigen delivery are described herein.

The present disclosure provides for proprotein and activatable proprotein compositions. A proprotein contains a functional protein (i.e. a full length protein or functional fragment thereof) which is coupled to a peptide mask that inhibits the binding of the functional protein to its target or binding partner. An activatable proprotein contains a functional protein coupled to a peptide mask, and further coupled to an activatable linker, wherein in an non-activated state, the peptide mask inhibits binding of the functional protein to its target or binding partner and in an activated state the peptide mask does not inhibit binding of the functional protein to its target or binding partner. Proproteins can provide for reduced toxicity and adverse side effects that could otherwise result from binding of a functional protein at non-treatment sites if it were not inhibited from binding its binding partner. Proproteins can further provide improved biodistribution characteristics. Proproteins containing a peptide mask can display a longer in vivo or serum half-life than the corresponding functional protein not containing a peptide mask. The disclosure further provides methods of screening for, making, and using these proproteins.

The present invention discloses a fragment of peptide which can be utilized in patients suffering from a disseminated mycobacterial infection. The fragment of peptide contains a sequence of amino acids with seven residues as formula (I) shown below, wherein X.sub.1 is Leucine (Leu); X.sub.2 is Proline (Pro); X.sub.3 is Glutamate (Glu); X.sub.4 is serine(Ser); X.sub.5 is Serine (Ser); X.sub.6 is Leucine (Leu) and X.sub.7 is Arginine (Arg):

X.sub.1-X.sub.2-X.sub.3-X.sub.4-X.sub.5-X.sub.6-X.sub.7(I)