The present invention refers to a composition comprising a viral protein or fragment thereof, wherein the viral protein or fragment thereof is enclosed within a self-assembling protein nanocapsule, preferably ferritin, and wherein the viral protein, or fragment thereof is selected from a virus of the Togaviridae family. The viral protein or fragment thereof may also further be selected from a virus of the alphavirus subfamily.

A composition in a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion is disclosed. The composition comprises: (a) a continuous aqueous phase, comprising H.sub.2O; (b) an oil phase or an oil shell, dispersed in the continuous aqueous phase; and (c) a hydrophilic polymer, stabilizing an interface between the continuous aqueous phase and the oil phase or the oil shell to form the water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion. The oil phase or the oil shell comprises: (i) oil; (ii) an internal aqueous phase, dispersed within the oil or the oil shell; and (iii) a lipophilic sorbitan-polyester conjugate, stabilizing an interface between the oil and the inner aqueous phase to form a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. The lipophilic sorbitan-polyester conjugate comprises: (1) sorbitan; and (2) poly(lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) or polylactic acid (polylactide), conjugated to the sorbitan.

The disclosure relates to tropical diseases such as viral mosquito borne illnesses and the treatment thereof. The invention includes ribonucleic acid vaccines and combination vaccines, as well as methods of using the vaccines and compositions comprising the vaccines for treating and preventing tropical disease.

RNA encoding an immunogen is co-delivered to non-immune cells as the site of delivery and also to immune cells which infiltrate the site of delivery. The responses of these two cell types to the same delivered RNA lead to two different effects, which interact to produce a strong immune response against the immunogen. The non-immune cells translate the RNA and express the immunogen. Infiltrating immune cells respond to the RNA by expressing type I interferons and pro-inflammatory cytokines which produce a local adjuvant effect which acts on the immunogen-expressing non-immune cells to upregulate major histocompatibility complex expression, thereby increasing presentation of the translated protein to T cells. The effects on the immune and non-immune cells can be achieved by a single delivery of a single RNA e.g., by a single injection.

A composition comprising mesoporous silica rods comprising an immune cell recruitment compound and an immune cell activation compound, and optionally comprising an antigen such as a tumor lysate. The composition is used to elicit an immune response to a vaccine antigen.

Self-assembling, cytocompatible peptides having the ability to form uniform nanorod assemblies are described. These peptides comprise a self-assembling β-sheet peptide and an amino terminal positively charged amino acid or amino acid analog, such as a lysine residue. Constructs comprising an antigen covalently attached to the self-assembling peptide are also disclosed, as well as the use of such constructs as vaccines for inducing an immune response against the antigen.

Disclosed are immunogenic constructs including: a nanoparticle; a cationic polymer electrostatically bound to an exterior surface of the nanoparticle and a stabilizer bound to the cationic polymer or the exterior surface of the nanoparticle; and an antigen or antigen producing agent. Optionally, the constructs may include adjuvant and/or one or more functional oligonucleotide(s) (e.g., siRNA or pDNA). Also disclosed are methods of using the provided immunogenic constructs for co-delivering an adjuvant, antigen, and optionally siRNA to a cell, inducing immune response in a subject, and treating or preventing an infectious disease in a subject.

The present invention relates to compositions comprising nanoparticles associated with a plurality of tolerogenic antigens (e.g., between 1-30 tolerogenic 5 antigens per nanoparticle) in such a manner that facilitates strong immune tolerance upon administration to a subject (e.g., a human subject suffering from or at risk of suffering from an autoimmune disorder e.g., MS or celiac disease). The present invention further relates to methods for utilizing such nanoparticles to treat autoimmune disorders (e.g., MS or celiac disease).

In some aspects, the present disclosure provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising a) a therapeutic agent; b) a metal-organic framework (MOF) or a coordination polymer; and c) a pharmaceutically acceptable polymer; wherein the therapeutic agent is encapsulated within the metal-organic framework or coordination polymer to form an encapsulated therapeutic agent, and wherein the encapsulated therapeutic agent is further encapsulated, entrapped, embedded, dispersed within, or complexed to the pharmaceutically acceptable polymer. The present disclosure also provides methods of making said compositions, methods of treating a disease or disorder comprising administering to a subject said compositions. The present disclosure also provides microneedles and implantable medical devices comprising said compositions.

The present disclosure relates to RNA molecules encoding a varicella zoster virus (VZV). The present disclosure further relates to compositions comprising the RNA molecules formulated in a lipid nanoparticle (RNA-LNP). The present disclosure further relates to the use of the RNA molecules, RNA-LNPs and compositions for the treatment or prevention of herpes zoster or shingles.