Compositions and methods for cancer treatment are disclosed herein. More specifically, the present invention describes an autologous cancer vaccine genetically modified for Furin knockdown and GM-CSF expression. The vaccine described herein attenuates the immunosuppressive activity of TGF- through the use of bi-functional shRNAs to knock down the expression of furin in cancer cells, and to augment tumor antigen expression, presentation, and processing through expression of the GM-CSF transgene.

This invention provides a method for preparing dendritic cells from monocytes with the use of interferon via non-adhesive culture. The method for preparing cytotoxic dendritic cells from monocytes comprises subjecting monocytes which were isolated from the peripheral blood to non-adhesive culture in the presence of GM-CSF and pegylated interferon , and further conducting non-adhesive culture with the addition of prostaglandin E2 and OK432.

The present invention relates to a combination product, composition(s) and kit of parts comprising at least (i) a therapeutic vaccine and (ii) one or more immune checkpoint modulator(s). The present invention also concerns a method for treating a proliferative or an infectious disease as well as a method for eliciting or stimulating and/or re-orienting an immune response, wherein said methods comprise administering to a subject in need thereof said combination product or said composition(s).

The present invention relates to prostate cancer markers, compositions comprising such markers, and methods of using such markers to induce or increase an immune response against prostate cancer. An immune response against the markers correlates with an immune response, in particular a humoral immune response, against prostate cancer cells which immune response is preferably associated with prophylaxis of prostate cancer, treatment of prostate cancer, and/or amelioration of at least one symptom associated with prostate cancer.

The present invention provides compositions and methods for treating cancer in a subject by eliciting an immune response against a MIC alpha 3-domain polypeptide.

Methods are disclosed for inhibiting the development of a tumor in a subject. The methods include administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of a dominant negative tumor necrosis factor (DN-TNF)- protein and/or a nucleic acid encoding the DN-TNF- protein. The DN-TNF- protein and/or a nucleic acid encoding the DN-TNF- protein can be administered alone or in combination with other agents.

The present invention relates to vectors, such as DNA plasmids, comprising multiple nucleic acid sequences engineered to be co-expressed as separate molecules. Such separate molecules include a first polypeptide, wherein the first polypeptide comprises a targeting unit that targets antigen-presenting cells, a multimerization unit, such as dimerization unit, and an antigenic unit comprising one or more antigens or parts thereof, and one or more immunostimulatory compounds.

The described invention provides a tumor cell vaccine comprising genetically modified tumor cell line of a particular tumor type that stably expresses high levels of two or more immunomodulators. According to some embodiments, an immunogenic amount of the tumor cell line variants may be selected for concomitant expression of two or more of recombinant membrane expressed IgG1, CD40L, TNF-alpha, as well as membrane and soluble forms of GM-CSF, and Flt-3L peptides that are effective to elicit an anti-tumor immune response compared to the parent unmodified tumor cell line as measured in vitro by a one-way mixed lymphocyte tumor reaction assay using human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the genetically modified allogeneic cell vaccine candidate. According to some embodiments, the tumor cell vaccine candidate will induce an immune response in the recipient cancer patient that cross reacts with the patient's own (autologous) tumor cells, the effects of which will be sufficient to result in enhanced anti-tumor immunity contributing to the increased survival of a vaccinated patient cohort compared to a matched unvaccinated patient cohort.

In certain embodiments, this disclosure relates to conjugates including GM-CSF and IL-7 and uses related thereto, e.g., enhancing the adaptive immune system. Typically, the GM-CSF and IL-7 are connected by a polymer linker, e.g., polypeptide. In certain embodiments, the disclosure relates to nucleic acids encoding these polypeptide conjugates, vectors including nucleic acid encoding polypeptide conjugates, and protein expression systems including these vectors such as infectious viral particles and host cells including such nucleic acids.

The present invention relates to a combination product, composition(s) and kit of parts comprising at least (i) a therapeutic vaccine and (ii) one or more immune checkpoint modulator(s). The present invention also concerns a method for treating a proliferative or an infectious disease as well as a method for eliciting or stimulating and/or re-orienting an immune response, wherein said methods comprise administering to a subject in need thereof said combination product or said composition(s).