Provided herein are binding molecules to tumor associated macrophages and associated methods for the treatment and detection of cancer.

Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of a cancer cell in an individual are provided. Methods and compositions for identifying a tumor-specific signature in an individual having cancer are also provided. Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of an infectious agent in an individual and/or for identifying an infectious agent-specific signature in an infected individual are provided. Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of a disease in an individual are also provided. Methods and compositions for identifying a disease-specific signature in an individual having the disease are also provided.

Methods and compositions are provided for assessing antigen presentation and potency of Listeria-based immunotherapeutics in inducing an immune response.

Compositions and methods for domain-specific targeting of CD206 are presented in which selected agents bind to the carbohydrate recognition domain 4 (CRD4) and carbohydrate recognition domain 5 (CRD5) of CD206. In certain aspects of the inventive subject matter, binding is specific, leads to a conformational change of CD206, and will induce phagocytosis in tumor associated macrophages and/or M2 macrophage cell death.

An icariside compound as shown in Formula I wherein the compound is a natural chemical component in the traditional Chinese herbal epimedium or a chemically modified or a totally synthetic product based on the natural component. The compound can be used for preparing pharmaceuticals, health care products, cosmetic and skin care products and the like for improvement of immunity in a human body.

The present invention is based, in part, on the identification of compositions and methods for modulating monocyte and macrophage inflammatory phenotypes and immunotherapy uses thereof.

Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of a cancer cell in an individual are provided. Methods and compositions for identifying a tumor-specific signature in an individual having cancer are also provided. Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of an infectious agent in an individual and/or for identifying an infectious agent-specific signature in an infected individual are provided. Methods and compositions for diagnosing the presence of a disease in an individual are also provided. Methods and compositions for identifying a disease-specific signature in an individual having the disease are also provided.

Non-human animals, and methods and compositions for making and using the same, are provided, wherein said non-human animals comprise a humanization of an endogenous cluster of differentiation (CD) gene, in particular a humanization of a CD47 gene. Said non-human animals may be described, in some embodiments, as having a genetic modification to an endogenous CD47 gene so that said non-human animals express a CD47 polypeptide that includes a human portion and a non-human portion (e.g., a murine portion).

The invention relates to the field of tumor metastasis and peritumoral lymphangiogenesis. More specifically, podoplanin present on a subset of tumor-associated macrophages was identified as target for treating or inhibiting tumor metastasis and peritumoral lymphangiogenesis, and podoplanin-positive macrophages were identified as biomarker for lymphatic metastasis. The invention further relates to screening methods for identifying compounds capable of neutralizing podoplanin-positive macrophages, and to methods and kits for tumor analysis or for lymph vessel analysis.

The present disclosure describes experimental and analytical methods for the quantification of Response Specificity of immune sentinel cells such as macrophages or monocytes in response to various immune threats or stimuli. The Response Specificity is used as a gauge for the health of the innate immune cells and for guiding therapeutic interventions. The Response Specificity provides a clinical measure for the health of the innate immune system for healthy persons or patients with infectious diseases, autoimmunity, or cancer.