Disclosed are a composition and method of treating or preventing cardiomyopathy in a human subject. In one embodiment, a method comprises delivering a gene therapy drug to cardiac tissue of the human subject. The gene therapy drug comprises: a first vector comprising a first portion of a polynucleotide sequence encoding for a therapeutic protein; and a second vector comprising a second portion of the polynucleotide sequence encoding for the therapeutic protein.

The present invention relates to novel peptides, composition comprising such peptides including nutritional supplements and methods for inducing satiation and satiety, for weight management and preventing or reducing the incidence of obesity, or for preventing or reducing cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, hypertension, hepatosteatosis, cancer and/or diabetes.

The present application provides materials and methods for treating a patient with a titin-based myopathy, particularly a titin-based cardiomyopathy, and/or other titinopathy. In addition, the present application provides materials and methods for editing the titin gene in a cell by genome editing.

Nucleic acid regulatory elements that are able to enhance muscle-specific expression of genes, in particular expression in muscle cells and/or tissues such as in diaphragm, smooth muscle, heart and/or skeletal muscle, including at least two diaphragm-specific regulatory elements and a heart- and skeletal muscle-specific regulatory element. Expression cassettes and vectors containing these nucleic acid regulatory elements, as well as uses thereof such as applications using gene therapy of muscle-related disorders, more particularly diaphragm, heart and/or skeletal muscle-directed gene therapy, and for vaccination purposes.

In alternative embodiments, provided are peptides and peptide-comprising compositions, including products of manufacture and kits, and methods, for modulating myosin subfragment-2 coiled coil stability. In alternative embodiments, a peptide modulator of myosin subfragment-2 coiled coil stability as provided herein is administered to an individual in need thereof for: increasing exercise tolerance in a subject with heart failure; reducing hospitalization in a subject with heart failure; improving quality of life in a subject with heart failure; decreasing morbidity in a subject with heart failure; decreasing mortality in a subject with heart failure; modulating skeletal muscle activity for purposes of impacting patient weight; and/or, modulating skeletal muscle activity for purposes of ameliorating consequences of skeletal muscle diseases such as sarcopenia, muscular dystrophies, muscle cramps, and nemaline myopathies.

The present invention relates to a gene therapy vector which is useful in the treatment or prevention of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a subject in need thereof. The gene therapy vector of the invention comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding a cardiac sarcomeric protein and a cardiomyocyte-specific promoter which is operably linked to said nucleic acid sequence. The invention furthermore relates to a cell which comprises the gene therapy vector. Pharmaceutical compositions which comprise the gene therapy vector and/or a cell comprising said vector are also provided. In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for treating or preventing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a subject by introducing the gene therapy vector of the invention into a subject in need of treatment.

Disclosed are a composition and method of treating or preventing cardiomyopathy in a human subject. In some embodiments, the method comprises delivering a therapeutic dose of a gene therapy vector to cardiomyocytes of the human subject, wherein the gene therapy vector comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding for PKP2.

A vector system for expressing a transgene in a cell, the vector system comprising a first vector and a second vector, wherein: (a) the first vector comprises in a 5′ to 3′ direction: a promoter; an intron; a 5′ end portion of the transgene coding sequence (CDS); a splice donor sequence; and a first recombinogenic region; (b) the second vector comprises in a 5′ to 3′ direction: a second recombinogenic region; a splice acceptor sequence; and a 3′ end portion of the transgene CDS; wherein the 5′ end portion and the 3′ end portion together constitute the transgene CDS, and wherein the intron is not capable of homologous recombination with the splice donor sequence to excise the 5′ end portion of the transgene CDS.

The present disclosure describes the fusogenic activity of the Myomaker protein. This polypeptide, when expressed in non-muscle cells, is able to drive fusion of the cell with a muscle cell, but not with other non-muscle cells. The use of this protein and cell expressing it in the delivery of exogenous genetic material to muscle cells also is described.

Genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI) polypeptides and the nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides are provided. In addition, methods of using such nucleic acids and polypeptides in methods of screening for agonists or antagonists of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) or ion channels and methods of monitoring neural activity also are provided.