The present disclosure provides modified cells including pluripotent stem cells, hematopoietic precursor cells, and hematopoietic cells (e.g., modified Tregs) that are steroid and/or calcineurin inhibitor-resistant. The present disclosure provides methods for generating steroid and/or calcineurin inhibitor-resistant modified cells including pluripotent stem cells, hematopoietic precursor cells, and hematopoietic cells. Also provided herein are compositions and methods of treatment.

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for generating a modified T cell with a nucleic acid capable of downregulating endogenous gene expression selected from the group consisting of TCR chain, TCR chain, beta-2 microglobulin, a HLA molecule, CTLA-4, PD1, and FAS and further comprising a nucleic acid encoding a modified T cell receptor (TCR) comprising affinity for a surface antigen on a target cell or an electroporated nucleic acid encoding a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). Also included are methods and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the modified T cell for adoptive therapy and treating a condition, such as an autoimmune disease.

The present disclosure generally relates to novel chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), modified regulatory T cells (Tregs) expressing such CARs and/or Tregs which are engineered to express neurodegenerative disease modifying molecules, e.g., which express molecules which prevent oxidative/inflammatory activity, or which promote neuronal growth/survival such as nerve growth factors or non-classical neurotrophic factors. The present disclosure also generally relates to compositions containing such modified Tregs, and methods of use thereof as therapeutics, in particular for treating and preventing neurodegenerative diseases and symptoms associated with therewith, and/or for slowing the onset of such neurodegenerative diseases, particularly in persons at risk because of genetic factors or in persons exhibiting early signs of developing such a neurodegenerative disease.

Provided herein are methods of generating MDSCs ex vivo. The methods include culturing blood cells with lactoferrin.

Methods of preventing or treating autoimmune disease are disclosed. In some cases, subjects with having or at risk of developing autoimmune disease are identified as possessing one or more autoimmunity-susceptibility HLA alleles at one or more HLA loci. In many cases, the HLA loci are selected from Class I and Class II loci, for example Class I A, B, and C, and Class II DQ, DR, and DP. In many cases, subjects suffering from or at risk of developing an autoimmune disease may be administered a plurality engineered autologous HSCs modified to carry and express a variant susceptibility allele having at least one mutation in the antigen binding cleft that alters antigen binding and/or specificity of that variant HLA molecule. In many embodiments, the engineered HSCs are CD34+ immune cells that express one or more modified HLA proteins.

Described herein are compositions and methods for engineering Treg cells for treatment of diabetes. The engineered Treg cells provided herein may be dual-edited (i.e., edited in two different loci in the cell genome), a first locus being the FOXP3 locus and the second locus being the TRAC locus. The engineering of dual-edited Treg cells as provided here may include selective expansion of dual-edited cells using a ligand that initiates and/or maintains IL-2 signal transduction in dual-edited cells. The engineering of dual-edited Treg cells as provided here may stably express FoxP3 and an exogenous TCR.

An isolated chimeric antigen receptor polypeptide (CAR), wherein the CAR comprises an extracellular antigen-binding domain, comprising an antibody or antibody fragment that binds a B Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA) polypeptide. The CAR preferably binds an epitope comprising one or more amino acids of residues 13 to 32 of the N-terminus of human BCMA. Also disclosed is a nucleic acid molecule encoding the CAR of the invention, a genetically modified immune cell, preferably a T cell, expressing the CAR of the invention and the use of said cell in the treatment of a medical disorder associated with the presence of pathogenic B cells, such as a disease of plasma cells, memory B cells and/or mature B cells, in particular multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or autoantibody-dependent autoimmune diseases.

The present disclosure provides the use of fratricide-resistant chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells targeting antigens expressed by T cell malignancies.

Described are methods of manufacturing engineered T cells and methods of using the engineered T cells to treat hematological malignancies. The engineered T cells can be administered in combination with allogeneic stem cell transplant and reduce the need for prophylactic immunosuppression.

This document provides methods and materials involved in treating a mammal (e.g., a human) having (or risk of developing) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). For example, T cells (e.g., regulatory T cells) expressing one or more antigen receptors targeting one or more epithelial-specific antigens are provided. Also provided are methods for administering T-cells expressing one or more antigen receptors targeting one or more epithelial-specific antigens to a mammal having (or at risk of developing) GVHD to treat the GVHD.