The invention relates to one or more aptamers isolated against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and methods of using the same. Certain embodiments of the invention relate to methods of detecting the presence, absence or amount of SARS-CoV-2 in a sample using the one or more aptamers described herein. In certain embodiments, the invention relates to one or more aptamers that are capable of specifically binding to SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including aptamers that are capable of specifically binding to the S1 subunit (including the receptor binding domain (RBD)) and/or the S2 subunit within their native conformation as part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in its trimeric form or as separate monomers.

The present invention relates to a nucleotide aptamer or a variant thereof, or a functional fragment thereof, the medical or diagnostic use thereof, the related pharmaceutical composition and a method for selecting a nucleotide aptamer which specifically binds to exosomes isolated from target cells. The present invention further relates to a kit and nucleic acid coding for the aptamer.

Described is a nucleic acid ligand, a mixture thereof, and the use thereof. The mixture contains two or more nucleic acid polymerase substrate analogs. The nucleic acid polymerase substrate analog is a single nucleic acid molecule or nucleic acid molecule analog which forms complementary pairing within a molecule, or a single or two nucleic acid molecules or nucleic acid molecule analogs which form complementary pairing between molecules; and a structure formed thereby has the characteristics of a nucleic acid polymerase substrate. The nucleic acid polymerase substrate analog is suitable for all polymerases and can be widely used in the field of nucleic acid amplification. The 3′ end of the nucleic acid ligand has a modification which inhibits the extension thereof.

The present invention is directed to methods and compositions of RNA nanostructures for replication and/or subgenomic expression of gene modulating single-stranded RNA by RNA-directed RNA polymerase-like proteins and the use of such nanostructures for use in a variety of organisms.

Some aspects of this disclosure provide compositions, methods, systems, and kits for controlling the activity and/or improving the specificity of RNA-programmable proteins, such as Cas9. For example, provided are guide RNAs (gRNAs) that are engineered to exist in an “on” or “off” state, which control the binding and, in certain instances, cleavage activity of RNA-programmable proteins (e.g., RNA-programmable endonucleases). By incorporating ligand-responsive self-cleaving catalytic RNAs (aptazymes) into guide RNAs, a set of aptazyme-embedded guide RNAs was developed that enable small molecule-controlled nuclease-mediated genome editing and small molecule-controlled base editing, as well as small molecule-dependent transcriptional activation in mammalian cells.

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.

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.

A composition for binding to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-positive tumor cells, the composition including a DNA aptamer. The DNA aptamer includes one of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2.

Provided herein are CRISPR/Cas methods and compositions for targeting RNA molecules, which can be used to detect, edit, or modify a target RNA.

Provided are hybrid tRNA/pre-microRNA and tRNA molecules and their use in methods of preventing and treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In some embodiments, provided are polynucleotides that include a tRNA operably linked to one or more pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA), where the tRNA and/or pre-miRNA are operably linked to one or more inserted RNA molecules that inhibit the growth or proliferation of a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell.