Disclosed herein are methods of using relaxin polypeptides and analogs, or nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides to treat or inhibit atrial fibrillation.

Disclosed herein are methods of using relaxin polypeptides and analogs, or nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides to treat or inhibit atrial fibrillation.

The present invention relates to heterodimeric Relaxin fusion polypeptides, in particular to heterodimeric Relaxin 2 fusion polypeptides and uses thereof. Thus, the invention provides Relaxin fusion polypeptides, nucleic acid molecules, vectors, host cells, pharmaceutical compositions and kits comprising the same and uses of the same including methods of treatment. The polypeptides and compositions of the invention may be useful, in particular, in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, for example for the treatment of heart failure.

The disclosure relates generally to methods and compositions for generation or enhancement of partial or complete cellular signaling pathways

Provided herein are methods and compositions for treating cancer in an individual comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of at least one immune checkpoint inhibitor and a viral composition comprising one or more viruses engineered to comprise an N1L gene deletion, a matrix-degrading protein gene, an adenoviral death protein (ADP) gene, and/or a cytochrome p450 gene. Also provided herein are methods and compositions for treating cancer in an individual comprising administering to the individual an effective amount of a viral composition comprising two or more viruses engineered to comprise an N1L gene deletion a matrix-degrading protein gene, an adenoviral death protein (ADP) gene, and/or a cytochrome p450 gene. Also provided herein are methods of enhancing antitumor efficacy by administering the agents described above in combination with other cancer therapies.

The present invention relates to an anticancer composition comprising a tumor-specific oncolytic adenovirus and an immune checkpoint inhibitor. The recombinant adenovirus having IL-12 and shVEGF, or IL-12 and GM-CSF-RLX inserted therein, according to the present invention, exhibits an excellent anticancer effect by enhancing immune functions, and such anticancer effect has been confirmed to be notably enhanced through concomitant administration with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, and thus the present invention may be used as a key technique in the field of cancer treatment.

MiniVectors and compositions containing MiniVectors that target genes implicated in IPF selected from CDH11, STAT3, STAT6, FoxM1, MDM2, TGF?, SMAD, PDGFA, or TLR4 and/or increase intracellular levels of reduced glutathione, relaxin, and p53, are provided, along with uses in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The invention provides a conjugate comprising a biomolecule linked to a fatty acid via a linker wherein the fatty acid has the following Formulae A1, A2 or A3:

##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, Ak, n, m and p are defined herein. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the conjugate of the invention such as GDF15 conjugate, and its therapeutic uses such as treatment or prevention of metabolic disorders or diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, pancreatitis, dyslipidemia, alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis and other progressive liver diseases, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease, diabetic complications (including but not limited to chronic kidney disease), neuropathy, gastroparesis and other metabolic disorders. The present invention further provides a combination of pharmacologically active agents and a pharmaceutical composition.

In alternative embodiments, the invention provides methods for treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) an individual or a patient against a disease, an infection or a condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level in vivo comprising: providing a paracrine polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence; or an expression vehicle, a vector, a recombinant virus, or equivalent, having contained therein a paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene, and the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent can express the paracrine-encoding nucleic acid or gene in a cell or in vivo; and administering or delivering the paracrine polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid or gene operatively linked to a transcriptional regulatory sequence, or the expression vehicle, vector, recombinant virus, or equivalent, to an individual or a patient in need thereof, thereby treating, ameliorating or protecting (preventing) the individual or patient against the disease, infection or condition responsive to an increased paracrine polypeptide level.

Disclosed herein is a method for diagnosing a renal allograft recipient's risk for developing fibrosis of the allograft and allograft loss. The method includes determining the expression levels of certain microRNAs, which have been determined to be predictive of an allograft recipient's risk. Also disclosed herein is a method of treating a renal allograft recipient to inhibit fibrosis of the allograft and allograft loss, as well as kits for use in the methods disclosed herein.