The present invention provides compositions and methods for detecting components of the inflammasome in a sample from a subject as markers for brain injuries such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or traumatic brain injury. Methods of using such inflammasome markers to determine prognosis, direct treatment and monitor response to treatment for the subject with a brain injury such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, mild cognitive impairment or traumatic brain injury are also described.

Compositions and methods for detecting components of the inflammasome in a sample from a subject as markers for inflammasome-related diseases or disorders such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, age-related macular degeneration, NASH, inflammaging or traumatic brain injury. Methods of using such inflammasome markers to determine prognosis, direct treatment and monitor response to treatment for the subject with an inflammasome-related disease or disorder such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, age-related macular degeneration, NASH, inflammaging or traumatic brain injury are also described.

The present invention provides compositions and methods for detecting components of the inflammasome in a sample from a subject as markers for brain injuries such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or traumatic brain injury. Methods of using such inflammasome markers to determine prognosis, direct treatment and monitor response to treatment for the subject with a brain injury such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, mild cognitive impairment or traumatic brain injury are also described.

A use of vivapain-4 (VX-4), which is a cysteine protease of Plasmodium vivax, showing pH-dependent switching of substrate specificity, is provided. More specifically, a method of treating a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium vivax by inhibiting VX-4; a method of screening a protease inhibitor acting on VX-4, wherein the protease inhibitor is useful as an anti-malarial agent acting on Plasmodium species, for example, Plasmodium vivax; and a method of identifying the activity of VX-4, are provided.

Provided is an activatable probe that undergoes intramolecular cyclization and subsequent aggregation in apoptotic tumor cells upon peptidase-initiated, and most advantageously caspase-3, activation. These caspase-sensitive nano-aggregation probes (C-SNAFs) are generally biocompatible, possess NIR spectral properties or may serve as PET or MRI imaging agents, and have a mechanism of target-mediated nanostructure self-assembly amenable to in vivo use. The probes encompass biocompatible condensation chemistry products that comprise D-cysteine and 2-cyano-6-hydroxyquinoline (CHQ) moieties linked to an amino-luciferin scaffold, and which can be activated by a two-step reaction requiring caspase-3/7-mediated cleavage of an aspartate-glutamate-valine-aspartate (L-DEVD) capping peptide and the free intracellular thiol-mediated reduction of the disulfide bond.