The present invention provides methods for using surgical drainage waste fluid as a means for diagnosing disease, assessing disease progression, predicting metastatic disease, assessing cancer metastasis, disease staging, molecular staging, and assessing metastatic disease. During surgery, suction is used to drain fluids such as blood, tissue fluids, and other bodily fluids away from the surgery site. The suction drainage fluid waste, also called drain fluid, is removed from the patient during the surgical procedure. Because surgical drain fluid is typically viewed as something that is not useful, it is disregarded and thrown away during the surgery. Instead, the invention provides that drain fluid, which is mostly lymphatic fluid and interstitial fluid, is diagnostically rich and contains important information for assessing, diagnosing, and treating disease. The methods of the invention use this waste fluid for the valuable data it contains. Therefore, while a patient is already undergoing surgery for a medical condition, the waste drain fluid is sampled and analyzed for biomarkers or other molecular indicia of disease.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is marked by altered immune regulation linked to waxing and waning clinical disease. Embodiments described herein identify sets of biomarkers/mediators and their use for informing and/or predicting a future SLE disease activity event such as an impending SLE flare or SLE-related organ inflammation. Such an approach can be beneficial in the management of lupus.

Provided herein are methods and compositions related to the selection T cells and/or subjects for adoptive immunotherapy based on the expression of one or more biomarkers.

The present invention discloses a novel therapeutic intervention for osteoporosis. The present invention discloses that Interleukin-3 (IL-3) can be utilized as a therapeutic intervention against osteoporosis and for regulating bone homeostasis. The present invention also provides a method for determining the pre-disposition of a subject for osteoporosis by measuring the RANKL/OPG level.

Disclosed is a device and method for a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD), for low-cost and user-friendly analytical devices capable of use for disease screening, point-of-care pathogen and biomarker detection, food and water quality testing. A microfluidic paper-based analytical device is further produced by chemical vapor deposition for multiplex heavy metal detection in water. Assay demonstrations proved that the immobilization of functional groups and multiplex heavy metal detection is suitable for real-world applications and established the approach for DNA analysis. The disclosed invention comprises multilayer capability, including the ability for various biomolecules to be immobilized with charge interaction.

Methods of identifying an individual as being a slow gingivitis responder or a high gingivitis responder are disclosed. Some methods are based on IL-1β levels in the individual's GCF at the site of inflammation. Some methods are based on MIF and/or CCL-1 levels in the individual's GCF in healthy tissue distant from the site of inflammation. Some disclosed methods are based on temporal differences in IL-8, IL-6 and/or TNFα levels in the individual's GCF in healthy tissue distant from the site of inflammation during the development of plaque induced inflammation. Methods of treating an individual who has gingivitis and methods of preventing gingivitis are also provided. The treatment and prevention methods comprise determining if individual is a slow gingivitis responder or a high gingivitis responder and applying oral care compositions to the individual's oral cavity.

The compositions and methods of the invention relate generally to detection of biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of solid tumor cancers. In particular, the invention relates to compositions and methods for detection of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of solid tumor type of cancers.

Methods for determination of risk, previous history and/or presence of a betaretrovirus infection in a subject are described herein. Said methods may comprise incubating a biological sample from the subject, the biological sample comprising immune effector-producing cells, with one or more betaretrovirus-specific epitopes, the betaretrovirus-specific epitopes comprising at least 7 contiguous amino acids according to any one of SEQ ID Nos. 1-36, and measuring the production of immune effectors by the immune effector-producing cells, wherein production of the immune effectors by the immune effector-producing cells determines risk and/or presence of betaretrovirus infection in the subject. Isolated peptides and kits for carrying out the methods are also described.

The invention relates to method of diagnosis a subject suffering from Adult-onset Still's disease and further to determine the disease course of the subject suffering from Adult-onset Still's disease.

Combination therapies and methods implementing the administration of a selective inhibitor of soluble tumor necrosis factor alpha (solTNF-α), preferably a dominant negative TNF-α protein, in combination with an anti-cancer therapeutic agent for treating WUC4+ cancer in human or animal subjects.