The present invention relates to peptides, nucleic acids and cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods. In particular, the present invention relates to the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to tumor-associated cytotoxic T cell (CTL) peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumor-associated peptides that serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions that stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. The present invention relates to 30 peptide sequences and their variants derived from HLA class I and class II molecules of human tumor cells that can be used in vaccine compositions for eliciting anti-tumor immune responses.

The present invention provides improved LAMP Constructs comprising specific fragments of the LAMP lumenal domain to deliver antigens to immune cells for enhanced processing. These LAMP Constructs can be used for the treatment of disease and in particular, allergies, infectious disease, diabetes, hyperproliferative disorders and/or cancer. The improved LAMP Constructs allow for presentation of properly configured three dimensional epitopes for production of an immune response when administered to a subject. The improved LAMP Constructs can be multivalent molecules, and/or can be provided as part of a multivalent vaccine containing two or more LAMP Constructs. The improved LAMP Constructs as described herein can also be used to generate antibodies when administered to a non-human vertebrate.

Methods for producing an antibody or an antigen-binding fragment thereof specifically binding to an antigen of interest, methods for inducing proliferation of PBMCs, B cell activation and differentiation, B cell maturation, and/or promoting class switch in an antibody-producing PBMC to produce IgG, compositions for the in vitro immunization and methods for identifying an antibody-enhancing factor for in vitro immunization.

The present invention provides a cell which comprises a first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and a second CAR, wherein the first and second CARs bind different epitopes on the same ligand. The cell may be used in a method for treating a disease, such as cancer.

The invention relates generally to a composition for rapid and sustained delivery of one or more biologically active agents, and uses thereof, wherein the composition comprises short biocompatible polymer fibres (SPF) having an average length in the range of from about 1 pm to about 3 mm, and an average diameter in the range of from about 15 nm to about 5 μm, wherein the SPF are loaded with one or more biologically active agents, and wherein, when administered, the composition provides rapid and sustained release of the one or more biologically active agents from the SPF.

The present invention provides an immune enhancer comprising at least an interferon and a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and an immunotherapeutic pharmaceutical composition comprising at least an antigen and the above-mentioned immune enhancers. The present invention further discloses a preparation method of the immunotherapeutic pharmaceutical composition, the use of the immune enhancer and the immunotherapeutic pharmaceutical composition. The immune enhancer can be applied to disease and tumor treatments caused by viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms.

The present invention relates to compositions, methods, and kits for eliciting an immune response to at least one CMV antigen expressed by a cancer cell, in particular for treating and preventing cancer. CMV determination methods, compositions, and kits also are provided.

The present invention describes compositions and methods for priming protective immunity in the presence of pre-existing maternal antibody. In some embodiments, the invention contemplates simultaneously masking vaccines to avoid antibody neutralization while targeting those vaccines to specific cell types in order to elicit an enhanced immune response. In other embodiments, vectors that recruit and activate specific antigen-presenting cells may further enhance the efficacy of those immune responses.

The present invention provides compositions and methods for reducing inflammation in the lungs of a mammal that is afflicted by a condition that leads to inflammation in the lungs. The compositions and methods described herein include agents that inhibit inflammasome signaling in the mammal such as antibodies directed against inflammasome components used alone or in combination with extracellular vesicle uptake inhibitor(s).

This invention provides methods of treating, reducing the incidence of, and inducing immune responses to a WT1-expressing cancer, by administering a combination of WT1 peptides including each of: YMFPNAPYL, RSDELVRHHNMHQRNMTKL, PGCNKRYFKLSHLQMHSRKHTG, SGQAYMFPNAPYLPSCLES, NLMNLGATL, WNLMNLGATLKGVAA, and WNYMNLGATLKGVAA, or cytotoxic T cells induced by the combination of WT1 peptides. The combination of WT1 peptides may be administered to the subject via a WT1 delivery agent, i.e., in peptide form, or in the form of nucleic acids encoding the WT1 peptides, or in the form of immune cells comprising nucleic acids encoding the WT1 peptides, and/or comprising or presenting the WT1 peptides. The WT1 delivery agents or CTLs can be administered to the subject in a single composition (as a heptavalent immunotherapy composition), or multiple compositions, resulting in delivery of all seven WT1 peptides and induction of an immune response against the WT1-expressing cancer.