The invention provides a cellular immunotherapy therapy product comprising CAR T cells that are enriched in CD8+ cells. Also provided are methods for making and using the product.

Replicable libraries having discrete members in defined locations for screening for antigens to a pathogenic organism are provided. Also provided are methods for using such libraries as well as a specific antigen, CT788, which induces T-cell activation during a Chlamydia infection.

Disclosed are compositions derived from the commensal microbiota and related methods for inducing and differentiating naive T cells. In some embodiments, the compositions and methods can be selectively used to generate stable regulatory T-cells (Tregs or iTregs) or stabilize such Tregs to prevent inflammatory responses and instead promote antigen tolerance. Alternatively, in other aspects, select compositions can be used to promote pro-inflammatory T cell development, such as through the induced development and stabilization of Th1 and Th7 cells.

Dendritic cells containing tumor lysate loaded particles are prepared. The dendritic cells present tumor antigens to elicit the Major Histocompatibility Complex class I pathway and can be used as a vaccine to treat cancer, including ocular melanoma.

This document provides methods and materials for treating cancer. For example, methods and materials for identifying antigens and combinations of antigens that can be used to treat cancer as well as combinations of antigens having the ability to reduce established tumors (e.g., gliomas) within a mammal (e.g., a human) are provided. In general, one aspect of this document features a composition comprising, or consisting essentially of, nucleic acid encoding HIF-2a, SOX-10, C-MYC, and TYRP-1, wherein the composition comprises less than 100 separate nucleic acid molecules.

The present invention provides recombinant proteins or peptides comprising a mutated listeriolysin O (LLO) protein or fragment thereof, comprising a substitution or internal deletion of the cholesterol-binding domain or a portion thereof, fusion proteins or peptides comprising same, nucleotide molecules encoding same, and vaccine vectors comprising or encoding same. The present invention also provides methods of utilizing recombinant proteins, peptides, nucleotide molecules, and vaccine vectors of the present invention to induce an immune response to a peptide of interest.

EphA2 T-cell epitope are provided herein. The epitopes include peptides corresponding to specific fragments of human EphA2 protein containing one or more T-cell epitopes, and conservative derivatives thereof. The EphA2 T-cell epitopes are useful in an assay, such as an ELISPOT assay, that may be used to determine and/or quantify a patient's immune responsiveness to EphA2. The epitopes also are useful in methods of modulating a patient's immune reactivity to EphA2, which has substantial utility as a treatment for cancers that overexpress EphA2, such as renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The EphA2 epitopes also can be used to vaccinate a patient against EphA2, by in vivo or ex vivo methods.

The present invention relates to a composition and a method for inducing CD4.sup.+ T cells to differentiate into regulatory T cells and proliferate through an induced T cell co-stimulator ligand (ICOSL) or an ICOSL-overexpressing mesenchymal stem cell and for preventing or treating regulatory T cell-mediated diseases. The induced T cell co-stimulator ligand (ICOSL) or ICOSL-overexpressing mesenchymal stem cell according to the present invention effectively suppresses the proliferation of PBMCs, induces the expression of an ICOS in regulatory T cells, thereby inducing the differentiation and proliferation of the regulatory T cells through a PI3K-Akt mechanism, and thus can effectively prevent, treat, or enhance regulatory T cell-mediated diseases.

The invention described herein relates to methods for treating a patient having a plurality of HLA-negative cancer cells or cancer cells with reduced HLA expression with IFN-alpha in an amount sufficient to expand and/or activate immune cells such that the activated and/or expanded immune cells kill one or more of HLA-negative cancer cells or the cancer cells with reduced HLA expression.

The present application provides antibody-TCR chimeric constructs comprising an antibody moiety that specifically binds to a target antigen fused to a TCRM capable of recruiting at least one TCR-associated signaling module. Also provided are methods of making and using these constructs.