A method of enhancing an antigen-specific immune response in a host comprising administering to the host an HMGN polypeptide comprising at least one of HMGN1, HMGN3a, HMGN3b, HMGN4, Nsbp1, or a functional fragment thereof, in an amount effective to enhance an antigen-specific immune response; as well as a pharmaceutical composition comprising an HMGN polypeptide comprising at least one of HMGN1, HMGN3a, HMGN3b, HMGN4, Nsbp1, or a functional fragment thereof, and an antigen, or nucleic acids encoding such molecules; and related methods and compositions.

The present invention is directed to novel methods of producing ex vivo natural killer T (NKT) cells, and therapeutic uses thereof for treatment of certain conditions including cancer, autoimmunity, inflammatory disorders, allergic disorders, tissue transplant-related disorders, and infections.

Embodiments of the disclosure concern methods and compositions for immunotherapy for human papillomavirus infection and diseases associated therewith. In specific embodiments, methods concern production of immune cells that target one or more antigens of HPV16 and/or HPV18, including methods with stimulation steps that employ IL-7 and IL-15, but not IL-6 and/or IL-12. Other specific embodiments utilize stimulations in the presence of certain cells, such as costimulatory cells and certain antigen presenting cells.

Polybrene as an additive in cell culture medium is used in methods for the generation of high-titer hepatitis E virus stocks and assays for titration of hepatitis E virus. A cell culture medium containing polybrene is used for high-titer HEV generation, a method for determining the presence and/or the level of HEV in a sample, and an HEV titration assay using polybrene.

Disclosed are compositions and methods for ex vivo expansion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes for use in adoptive cell therapy (ACT). Also disclosed are compositions and method for identifying an agent for ex vivo expansion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes for use in ACT. Also disclosed are methods for treating cancer using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes expanded by the disclosed methods.

A method and device for preferentially delivering a compound such as an antigen to the cytosol of an immune cell. The method comprises passing a cell suspension comprising the target immune cell through a microfluidic device and contacting the suspension with the compound(s) or payload to be delivered.

A cell system and an application thereof, and a method for activating a broad-spectrum cancer cell-specific T cell. The cell system includes a cancer cell-specific T cell extracted from a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, where the extraction includes steps of co-incubating the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte or a T cell in the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte and an antigen-presenting cell with a nanoparticle and/or a microparticle loaded with a whole-cell antigen of a cancer cell to activate a cancer cell-specific T cell, and then isolating the activated cancer cell-specific T cell from the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte. The problem that broad-spectrum and polyclonal cancer cell-specific T cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes cannot be effectively screened in clinical practice at present is overcome, broad-spectrum effector cancer cell-specific T cells with a specific tumor-killing function can be isolated from the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which have the characteristics of easy isolation and high specificity, and can be used for cancer prevention and treatment.

A method for increasing dendritic cell migration ability, and a use thereof are disclosed. A method according to one aspect can increase the migration ability of mature dendritic cells and increase the induction, by dendritic cells, of inflammatory cytokine production, T lymphocyte proliferation and T lymphocyte polarization, and thus can be used for the prevention or treatment of immune-related diseases.