Cell penetrating peptides that target many cells types including cells of the retina and cornea with high efficiency are provided herein. These peptides can be used to deliver cargo molecules across a plasma membrane, without the need for chemical conjugation. Compositions and viral vectors comprising these cell-penetrating peptides are also provided. Methods of using the peptides, compositions and viruses to deliver various agents to target cells and tissues are also provided.

Disclosed are an etelcalcetide intermediate and a method for synthesizing etelcalcetide. The etelcalcetide intermediate is Fmoc-D-Cys(S—S—(N-Boc)-L-Cys(OtBu))-OH. The method for synthesizing the etelcalcetide includes the following steps: using N-Boc-L-Cqs-OtBu as a starting material to generate a primary product of a formula (A) by means of a substitution reaction, herein R is S-Py or Cl; and performing a coupling reaction on the primary product and Fmoc-D-Cys-OH amino acid to obtain Fmoc-D-Cys(S—S—(N-Boc)-L-Cys(OtBu))-OH. The key intermediate is used for synthesizing the etelcalcetide, which may improve the purity and the yield. It is important that the raw materials for synthesizing the key intermediate are cheap and readily available, and the process is simple.

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Provided herein are antibacterial compounds, wherein the compounds in some embodiments have broad spectrum bioactivity. In various embodiments, the compounds act by inhibition of lipoprotein signal peptidase II (LspA), a key protein in bacteria. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treatment using the compounds described herein are also provided.

Compositions and methods are provided to determine occupancy level of opioid receptors in a subject. The disclosed methods may be performed non-invasively in the inner ear of the subject, and may be performed at a point-of-care location to provide guidance to a practitioner on tapering on pharmacotherapy or on a patient's risk of relapse for substance abuse.

Compositions and methods are provided to determine occupancy level of opioid receptors in a subject. The disclosed methods may be performed non-invasively in the inner ear of the subject, and may be performed at a point-of-care location to provide guidance to a practitioner on tapering on pharmacotherapy or on a patient's risk of relapse for substance abuse.

The present invention relates to a method of characterizing the binding characteristics between a peptide of interest and MHC molecules of a given cell type, the method comprising the steps of: (i) Providing two or more cells characterized by displaying, on their surface, MHC molecules, (ii) dispensing the two or more cells in two or more vessels, so that each vessel comprises one or more cells, (iii) adding, to the different vessels, different variants of a peptide of interest, wherein the variants of said peptide are labeled and have the same amino acid sequence, yet differ from one another in the type of labeling and their concentration, and exposing the cells thereto so as to form, in the different vessels, peptide-MHC complexes on the surface of the cells, (iv) isolating the thus formed peptide-MHC complexes and (v) determining the concentration of the different peptide-MHC complexes formed (FIG. 1).

The present invention relates to a method of characterizing the binding characteristics between a peptide of interest and MHC molecules of a given cell type, the method comprising the steps of: (i) Providing two or more cells characterized by displaying, on their surface, MHC molecules, (ii) dispensing the two or more cells in two or more vessels, so that each vessel comprises one or more cells, (iii) adding, to the different vessels, different variants of a peptide of interest, wherein the variants of said peptide are labeled and have the same amino acid sequence, yet differ from one another in the type of labeling and their concentration, and exposing the cells thereto so as to form, in the different vessels, peptide-MHC complexes on the surface of the cells, (iv) isolating the thus formed peptide-MHC complexes and (v) determining the concentration of the different peptide-MHC complexes formed (FIG. 1).

This invention provides isolated and characterized secreted molecules from probiotic bacteria for use in compositions and methods for the treatment and/or prevention of infection by harmful pathogenic bacteria. The isolated secreted molecules can also be used in nutritional or medical food products which provide probiotics to the gastrointestinal tract of a mammal.

This invention provides isolated and characterized secreted molecules from probiotic bacteria for use in compositions and methods for the treatment and/or prevention of infection by harmful pathogenic bacteria. The isolated secreted molecules can also be used in nutritional or medical food products which provide probiotics to the gastrointestinal tract of a mammal.

The present invention relates to peptides, proteins, nucleic acids and cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods. In particular, the present invention relates to the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to tumor-associated T-cell peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumor-associated peptides that can for example serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions that stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, or to stimulate T cells ex vivo and transfer into patients. Peptides bound to molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), or peptides as such, can also be targets of antibodies, soluble T-cell receptors, and other binding molecules.