The invention is concerned with a fusion protein comprising interleukin 13 and a regulatory cytokine, for example, an interleukin chosen from interleukin 4, interleukin 10, interleukin 27, interleukin 33, transforming growth factor beta 1, transforming growth factor beta 2, and interleukin 13, a nucleic acid molecule encoding such fusion protein, a vector comprising such nucleic acid molecule, and a host cell comprising such nucleic acid molecule or such vector. The invention further pertains to a method for producing such fusion protein. The fusion protein or a gene therapy vector encoding the fusion protein may be used in the prevention or treatment of a condition characterized by pathological pain, chronic pain, neuro-inflammation and/or or neurodegeneration.

Provided are methods for the detection of GDF11 in a subject having or suspected of having a mood and/or anxiety disorder, comprising providing a sample from a subject having or suspected of having a mood and/or anxiety disorder; contacting the sample with a GDF11-binding molecule; and detecting bound GDF11. Also provided are methods of diagnosing or characterizing a mood and/or anxiety disorder in a subject, comprising providing a sample from a subject; contacting the sample with a GDF11-binding molecule; detecting bound GDF11; and comparing the levels of detected bound GDF11 to healthy reference levels. Also provided are methods of treating or preventing a mood and/or anxiety disorder and/or accelerated aging in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to the subject an agent or composition which increases the levels of GDF11 polypeptide in the subject.

The disclosure relates to the engineering of collagen-binding modification of anti-inflammatory agents using collagen-binding peptide (CBP) and vWF A3 to achieve targeted therapy for inflammatory diseases. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure relate to a composition comprising an anti-inflammatory agent operatively linked to an extracellular matrix (ECM)-affinity peptide. Also disclosed are cytokines and anti-inflammatory agents, such as CD200, linked to a serum protein and/or an ECM-affinity peptide. Further aspects of the disclosure relate to a method for treating an autoimmune or inflammatory condition in a subject comprising administering a composition of the disclosure to the subject.

Embodiments of this invention provide compounds, compositions, methods, and uses for therapeutic diketopiperazines, including cyclic G-2-Allyl Proline and other cyclic Glycyl Proline compounds to treat Pitt Hopkins Syndrome and symptoms thereof, as well as manufacture of compositions, medicaments including tablets, capsules, liquid formulations, gels, injectable solutions, and other formulations that are useful for treatment of such conditions.

The present invention relates to a composition for skin whitening or wound treatment including liquid-type plasma, and more particularly, to a cosmetic composition for skin whitening and a pharmaceutical composition for treating and preventing skin pigmentation diseases which contain liquid-type plasma as an active ingredient. In addition, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for wound treatment, a quasi-drug composition, and a health functional food composition, which include liquid-type plasma and a growth factor as active ingredients, and a wound treatment method including a step of administering the composition to a subject or a step of applying the composition on the skin. The composition including liquid-type plasma and a growth factor of the present invention is capable of inducing the proliferation of fibroblasts, thereby exhibiting excellent wound treatment efficacy. Accordingly, the composition including liquid-type plasma and a growth factor of the present invention can be usefully applied to medicines including external preparations for wound treatment, etc.

Cells derived from postpartum tissue and methods for their isolation and induction to differentiate to cells of a chondrogenic or osteogenic phenotype are provided by the invention. The invention further provides cultures and compositions of the postpartum-derived cells and products such as lysates related thereto. The postpartum-derived cells of the invention and products related thereto have a plethora of uses, including but not limited to research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications, for example, in the treatment of bone and cartilage conditions such as osteoarthritis.

The present invention relates to a composition for producing an extracellular matrix from a eukaryotic cell, the composition comprising a polypeptide or compound capable of specifically binding to a microtubule associated serine/threonine kinase family member 4 (MAST4) protein or a fragment thereof or a polynucleotide, polypeptide or compound capable of specifically binding to a nucleic acid coding for the MAST4 protein or a fragment thereof, and a composition for promoting chondrogenesis, comprising the same composition.

The present invention provides: a method for producing renal progenitor cells from intermediate mesoderm cells, which comprises a step of culturing intermediate mesoderm cells in a medium containing a TGFβ signaling activator(s) and a BMP inhibitor(s); the renal progenitor cells produced by the method; a pharmaceutical composition comprising the renal progenitor cells; and a therapeutic drug for kidney diseases comprising the renal progenitor cells.

There is disclosed herein compositions, methods, uses and systems for reducing pain in a patient that emanates from a body area, preferably spine or joint. Methods of treatment or prevention are described for a disease or condition selected from degenerative disc disease, disc injury, pain, arthritis, or suspected arthritis.

The present invention is directed towards the use of Growth Differentiation Factor 1 (Gdf1) and variants thereof to modulate and regulate ceramide neutralization in cells.