The present disclosure provides binding-triggered transcriptional switch polypeptides, nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences encoding the binding-triggered transcriptional switch polypeptides, and host cells genetically modified with the nucleic acids. The present disclosure also provides chimeric Notch receptor polypeptides, nucleic acids comprising nucleotide sequences encoding the chimeric Notch receptor polypeptides, and host cells transduced and/or genetically modified with the nucleic acids. The present disclosure provides transgenic organisms comprising a nucleic acid encoding a binding triggered transcriptional switch polypeptide and/or a chimeric Notch receptor polypeptide of the present disclosure. Binding triggered transcriptional switch polypeptides and chimeric Notch receptor polypeptides of the present disclosure are useful in a variety of applications, which are also provided.

In certain embodiments, this disclosure relates to conjugates comprising a polypeptide of GM-CSF and a polypeptide IL-4. Typically, the GM-CSF and IL-4 are connected by a linker, e.g., polypeptide. In certain embodiments, the disclosure relates to isolated nucleic acids encoding these polypeptide conjugates, vectors comprising nucleic acid encoding polypeptide conjugates, and protein expression systems comprising these vectors such as infectious viral particles and host cells comprising such nucleic acids.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods, devices, and computer systems thereof for the derivation of T CAR libraries (Universal Subject or Individual Subject) for personalized treatment of disease in a subject. In certain embodiments, differential screening of normal and diseased tissue expression data is utilized to determine disease-specific antigens and thereby generate T CAR cells reactive to such antigens to form a disease-specific library. In certain embodiments, determination of the most effective T CAR clones from the disease-specific library is based on the subject's own disease-specific antigens. In certain embodiments, a subject is treated with a therapeutically effective amount of T CAR clones.

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.

A method of treating a disease, such as cancer, by administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of allogeneic T cells with a MHC unrestricted chimeric receptor short time after partial lymphodepletion. The method also comprises administering one or more agents that delay egression of the allogeneic T cells from lymph nodes of said subject during adoptive transfer of said allogeneic T cells to the subject by trapping the T cells in the lymph nodes.

The invention involves generating a T cell response to subdominant antigens and using the cells to therapeutically change the cellular homeostasis and nature of the immune response. In a preferred embodiment, the cells are generated outside of the patient avoiding the influence of the patient's immunologic milieu. By stimulating and growing the T cells from a patient in a tissue culture to one or more subdominant antigens and the transplanting them into the patient, if enough cells are expanded and transplanted, the transplanted cells overwhelm the endogenous dominant T cells in the response to either break or induce immune tolerance or otherwise modify the immune response to the cells or organism expressing that antigen. When the memory cells are established they are then reflective of this new immunodominance hierarchy so that the desired therapeutic effect is long lasting. In effect, the transplantation exogenously generated T cells reactive to the subdominant antigens is recapitulating priming and rebalancing the patient's immune response to target previously subdominant antigens in the cells or organism to produce a therapeutic benefit.

The present invention provides methods and compositions for converting a T cell into a cell that exhibits at least one regulatory T cell phenotype. The converted T cell is generated by contacting a T cell with a cell that is modified to comprise an agent capable of activating PD1 signaling in a T cell. The converted T cell is useful for preventing, suppressing, blocking or inhibiting an immune response. For example the converted T cell is useful for preventing rejection of a transplanted tissue in a human or other animal host, or protecting against graft versus host disease. The converted T cell can also be used to treat autoimmune diseases.

A PD-1 antibody or a functional fragment thereof, and use of said antibody in the preparation of a medicament for treating tumors are provided.

The present invention relates to chimeric transmembrane immunoreceptors, named zetakines, comprised of an extracellular domain comprising a soluble receptor ligand linked to a support region capable of tethering the extracellular domain to a cell surface, a transmembrane region and an intracellular signalling domain. Zetakines, when expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes, direct T cell activity to those specific cells expressing a receptor for which the soluble receptor ligand is specific. Zetakine chimeric immunoreceptors represent a novel extension of antibody-based immunoreceptors for redirecting the antigen specificity of T cells, with application to treatment of a variety of cancers, particularly via the autocrin/paracrine cytokine systems utilized by human maligancy. In a preferred embodiment is a glioma-specific immunoreceptor comprising the extracellular targetting domain of the IL-13R2-specific IL-13 mutant IL-13(E13Y) linked to the Fc region of IgG, the transmembrane domain of human CD4, and the human CD3 zeta chain.

This disclosure provides, for instance subset-optimized CART cells and related methods. For instance, the disclosure describes methods and compositions of CD4 and CD8 T cells that express CARs containing specific combinations of intracellular signaling domains can be used to increase persistence and anti-tumor activity of the infused CAR-expressing T cells for treating a subject having a disease, e.g., a cancer.