Materials and methods for improving immunotherapy are provided herein. In some cases, the materials and methods can be used in the treatment of cancers.

Disclosed herein is a method for enhancing antitumor T cell responses in subjects. The method involves administering to the subject in need thereof a composition comprising a demethylating agent in an amount effective to demethylate STING proteins in the tumor cells. This method is particularly useful in subjects with deficient STING expression in the tumor cells. Therefore, also disclosed is a method for treating a tumor in a subject that involves detecting in a biopsy sample from the subject reduced STING expression, reduced cGAS expression, or a combination thereof; and then administering to the subject a demethylating agent in an amount effective to demethylate STING proteins in the tumor cells. The method can further involve administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a STING agonist. The method can further involve administering to the subject tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), such as HLA-matched TILs.

The present invention provides methods and kits for detecting and treating multiple myeloma. The methods involve detecting proteins that the inventors have identified as biomarkers of multiple melanoma.

The invention provides methods for identifying an individuals with a disease or disorder who is less likely to respond to immunotherapy alone, the method comprising determining the presence of a stromal gene signature in a sample from the individual, said signature comprising one or more of FAP, FN1, MMP2, PDGFRB, or THY, wherein an increase in the level of expression of the one or more genes in the stroma gene signature relative to a median level identifies an individual for treatment with an immunotherapy and with a suppressive stromal antagonist. In some aspects, the invention provides methods for treating an individual displaying the stromal gene signature. In other aspects, the invention provides kits for determining the presence of a stroma gene signature in a sample from an individual.

The present disclosure is directed to antibodies that bind to DC-HIL on the surface of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and thus antagonize the T cell suppressor function of these cells, as well as their use in diagnosing and treating cancers such as melanoma.

The present invention provides methods of predicting cell sensitivity or resistance to a therapeutic agent.

The present invention relates to methods of diagnosing a kidney disorder in a patient, as well as methods of monitoring the progression of a kidney disorder and/or methods of monitoring a treatment protocol of a therapeutic agent or a therapeutic regimen. The invention also relates to assay methods used in connection with the diagnostic methods described herein.

The present disclosure relates to a method of isolating extracellular vesicles directly from human tissues. The invention further relates to a method of identifying disease and tissue specific membrane proteins on extracellular vesicles by membrane isolation and proteomic analysis. The invention further relates to methods of diagnosing diseases by capturing extracellular vesicles by the use of disease specific membrane proteins from body fluids, and detecting or analyzing molecular signatures (proteome, DNA, and RNA) on captured extracellular vesicles. Moreover, the present invention relates to kits, apparatus and software required for implementing aforementioned methods.

The invention provides a method of treating a melanoma comprising (i) identifying a patient having a PD-L1 positive melanoma and (ii) administering to the patient an anti-PD-1 antibody or an antigen-binding portion thereof (“an anti-PD-1 antibody monotherapy”). The methods of the invention can extend progression-free survival for over 12 months and/or reduces the tumor size at least about 10%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, or about 50% compared to the tumor size prior to the administration.

The description provides compositions and methods for treating ETBR-related cancer. In certain aspects, the description provides a delivery system for the controlled, systemic release of at least one of ETBR antagonists, caspase-8 inhibitors, or a combination thereof, optionally including an ETAR antagonist, an anti-PD-1 antibody, a bRAF inhibitor, niacinamide or a combination thereof. The compositions described are useful for the treatment of certain cancers, including, e.g., breast cancer, malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, glioblastoma, as well as others. In addition, the description provides a delivery system for the controlled release of at least one of ETBR antagonists, caspase-8 inhibitors or a combination thereof, optionally including at least one of an ETAR antagonist, an anti-PD-1 antibody, a bRAF inhibitor, niacinamide, or a combination thereof, to the central nervous system that are useful for treating cancers that have spread to the brain.