Disclosed herein are methods for treating patients that may develop or already have pre-existing gene therapy neutralizing antibodies by administering a protease that cleaves peptide bonds present in immunoglobulins or by administering a glycosidase that cleaves carbohydrate residues present on immunoglobulins, or other similar enzymatic cleavage of immunoglobulins in vivo. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing IdeS and other immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme polypeptides for gene therapy treatment of a disease in a patient in need thereof.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides cells and compositions for improved immunotherapy and methods of using such cells and compositions. It relates to cells comprising a ligand-recognizing receptor (e.g., an antigen-recognizing receptor, e.g., a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or a T-cell Receptor (TCR)) and an IgG-degrading enzyme or a fragment thereof. The IgG-degrading enzyme rapidly cleaves IgG. The IgG-degrading enzyme serves as a biomolecular shield against the host humoral response. The cells have increased resistance to host humoral response (e.g., an antibody-driven host humoral response), which allows for prolonged persistence of the cells, leading to enhanced activity of the cells.

Disclosed herein are methods for treating patients that may develop or already have pre-existing gene therapy neutralizing antibodies by administering a protease that cleaves peptide bonds present in immunoglobulins or by administering a glycosidase that cleaves carbohydrate residues present on immunoglobulins, or other similar enzymatic cleavage of immunoglobulins in vivo. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing IdeS and other immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme polypeptides for gene therapy treatment of a disease in a patient in need thereof.

Disclosed herein are methods for treating patients that may develop or already have pre-existing gene therapy neutralizing antibodies by administering a protease that cleaves peptide bonds present in immunoglobulins or by administering a glycosidase that cleaves carbohydrate residues present on immunoglobulins, or other similar enzymatic cleavage of immunoglobulins in vivo. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing IdeS and other immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme polypeptides for gene therapy treatment of a disease in a patient in need thereof.

The present disclosure provides for conversion-resistant CAR regulatory T cells (Tregs) and bi-specific antibodies, and methods to use these Tregs and antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and for prevention of organ transplant rejection.

The disclosure provides for systems, methods, and compositions for targeting nucleic acids. In particular, the invention provides non-naturally occurring or engineered RNA-targeting systems comprising a novel RNA-targeting Cas12b effector protein and at least one targeting nucleic acid component like a guide RNA or crRNA.

The present disclosure provides, inter alia, a recombinant engineered deubiquitinase (DUB) and methods for treating or ameliorating an inherited ion channelopathy, such as long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, or cystic fibrosis, in a subject. Further provided are methods for screening mutations causing such inherited ion channelopathies for a trafficking-deficient mutation that is treatable by the recombinant engineered DUB disclosed herein.

Covalently cross-linked pilus polymers displayed on the cell surface of Gram-positive bacteria are assembled by class C sortase enzymes. These pilus-specific transpeptidases located on the bacterial membrane catalyze a two-step protein ligation reaction—first, cleaving the LPXTG motif of one pilin protomer to form an acyl-enzyme intermediate, and second, joining the terminal threonine to the nucleophilic lysine residue residing within the pilin motif of another pilin protomer. Informed by the high-resolution crystal structures of corynebacterial pilus-specific sortase (SrtA) and by developing structural variants of the sortase enzyme whose catalytic pocket has been unmasked by activating mutations, we have developed new reagents capable of forming isopeptide bonds in vitro. The reagents disclosed herein can catalyze ligation of isolated SpaA domains in vitro provide a facile and versatile new platform for protein engineering and bio-conjugation that has major implications for biotechnology.

Disclosed are bacterial toxins and uses thereof as specific proteases for Ras sarcoma oncoproteins (Ras proteins). The bacterial toxins may be modified for use as pharmaceutical agents for treating Ras-dependent diseases and disorders including cell proliferation diseases and disorders such as cancer.

Polypeptides, viruses, methods and compositions provided herein are useful for the selective elimination of senescent cells. Method aspects include methods for inducing apoptosis in a senescent cell comprising administering to the cell a polynucleotide, virus, host cell, or pharmaceutical composition described herein. Other methods include expressing a pro-apoptotic gene in a senescent cell comprising administering to the cell the polynucleotide, virus, or pharmaceutical composition as described herein.