The present invention concerns methods and compositions for immunotherapy employing a modified T cell comprising disrupted T cell receptor and/or HLA and comprising a chimeric antigen receptor. In certain embodiments, the compositions are employed allogeneically as universal reagents for “off-the-shelf” treatment of medical conditions such as cancer, autoimmunity, and infection. In particular embodiments, the T cell receptor-negative and/or HLA-negative T cells are generated using zinc finger nucleases, for example.

The present invention provides immunoresponsive cells, including T cells, cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells, and Natural Killer (NK) cells, expressing an antigen recognizing receptor and an inhibitory chimeric antigen receptor (iCAR). Methods of using the immunoresponsive cell include those for the treatment of neoplasia and other pathologies where an increase in an antigen-specific immune response is desired.

The present invention provides a complex for use in the prevention and/or treatment of cancer, the complex comprising a) a cell penetrating peptide, b) at least one antigen or antigenic epitope, and c) at least one TLR peptide agonist, wherein the components a)-c) are covalently linked. In particular, compositions for use in the prevention and/or treatment of cancer, such as a pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines are provided.

Compositions and methods for treating a VEGF-related ophthalmic disorder in a subject in need comprising, administering intravitreally to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of an anti-VEGF agent, comprising a VEGF binding portion operatively linked to a Fc-IgG, wherein the VEGF binding portion comprises at least one VEGF binding domain that is an IgG-like domain 2 of VEGFR-1.

Provided herein are methods for delaying or inhibiting T cell maturation or differentiation in vitro for a T cell therapy, comprising contacting one or more T cells from a subject in need of a T cell therapy with an AKT inhibitor and at least one of exogenous Interleukin-7 (IL-7) and exogenous Interleukin-15 (IL-15), wherein the resulting T cells exhibit delayed maturation or differentiation. In some embodiments, the method further comprises administering the one or more T cells to a subject in need of a T cell therapy.

Combinations of (S)-3-Hydroxy-1-(1H-indol-5-yl)-2-oxo-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid 3,5-difluoro-benzylamide and a VEGFR/VEGF inhibitor, or their physiologically acceptable salts are disclosed. Such combination are useful for the prophylaxis or treatment of cancer.

The present invention provides immunoresponsive cells, including T cells, cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells, and Natural Killer (NK) cells, expressing at least one of an antigen recognizing receptor and one of a chimeric costimulatory receptor. Methods of using the immunoresponsive cell include those for the treatment of neoplasia and other pathologies where an increase in an antigen-specific immune response is desired.

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.

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.

Compositions and methods for treating a VEGF-related ophthalmic disorder in a subject in need comprising, administering intravitreally to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of an anti-VEGF agent, comprising a VEGF binding portion operatively linked to a Fc-IgG, wherein the VEGF binding portion comprises at least one VEGF binding domain that is an IgG-like domain 2 of VEGFR-1.