An embodiment of the invention provides nucleic acids comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) amino acid constructs. Polypeptides, recombinant expression vectors, host cells, populations of cells, and pharmaceutical compositions relating to the CAR constructs are disclosed. Methods of detecting the presence of cancer in a mammal and methods of treating or preventing cancer in a mammal are also disclosed.

The technology relates generally to the field of immunology and relates in part to methods for activating T cells and other cells resulting in an immune response against a target antigen. The technology also relates to costimulation of therapeutic cells that express chimeric antigen receptors that recognize target antigens using chimeric MyD88- and CD40-derived polypeptides. The technology further relates in part to therapeutic cells that express chimeric antigen receptors, wherein the chimeric antigen receptors have an endodomain that includes MyD88- and CD40-derived polypeptides, and methods for treating patients using the modified therapeutic cells.

The present invention provides engineered cells having at least one chimeric antigen receptor polypeptide, and optionally at least one of a cytokine and chemokine.

The present invention concerns methods and compositions for immunotherapy employing a modified T cell comprising a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). In particular aspects, CAR-expressing T-cells are producing using electroporation in conjunction with a transposon-based integration system to produce a population of CAR-expressing cells that require minimal ex vivo expansion or that can be directly administered to patients for disease (e.g., cancer) treatment.

The present invention relates to methods for reducing or eliminating the non-specific release of a cytokine associated with a disease comprising administering at least one glucocorticoid and an immunostimulating antibody. Additionally, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition that contains at least one immunostimulating antibody and at least one glucocorticoid.

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and CAR-expressing T cells are provided that can specifically target cells that express an elevated level of a target antigen. Likewise, methods for specifically targeting cells that express elevated levels of antigen (e.g., cancer cells) with CAR T-cell therapies are provided.

The present invention relates to artificial antigen presenting cell (aAPC) scaffolds to provide cells with specific functional stimulation to obtain phenotypic and functional properties ideal to mediate tumor regression or viral clearance. In particular, the scaffolds of the present invention comprise antigens, such as peptide-MHC (pMHC) class I molecules, and specific combinations of cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules to allow effective expansion and functional stimulation of specific T cells.

The present invention concerns new engineered immune cells expressing two CARs directed against two different targets, polynucleotides for preparing said immune cells, pharmaceutical compositions comprising said immune cells, and the use of said immune cells in the treatment of cancers.

Described herein is a method of preventing or treating a disease in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the subject who is in need thereof an effective dosage of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a virus like particle (VLP) comprising: an alphavirus replicon comprising a recombinant polynucleotide, wherein the polynucleotide comprises a sequence encoding both subunits of a human class II major histocompatibility antigen, a retroviral gag protein, and a fusogenic envelope protein, wherein the VLP does not contain an alphavirus structural protein gene.

The present disclosure provides compositions of immune cells presenting a target molecule or a fragment thereof and provides compositions and methods of producing immune cell therapies with targeted activity against cancer. Methods for conditioning a subject receiving the immune cell therapy of the disclosure are additionally disclosed. The immune cell therapies of the present disclosure can be administered to a subject in need thereof for diseases such as cancer.