Up-regulation of caspase has been found in COVID-19 patients, and also occurs in patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and other conditions. Such up-regulation can be responsible for poor clinical outcomes in patients having such diseases or disorders, as such up-regulation leads to a process called pyroptosis: death and malfunction of immune system cells, particularly of certain types of lymphocytes. An inhibitor of caspase such as a caspase 1 inhibitor, or “pan-caspase” inhibitor (i.e., an inhibitor of multiple caspase types including caspase-1), can be used to treat COVID-19 patients or individuals at risk of infection, by limiting the malfunction of the immune system. A caspase-1 or pan-caspase inhibitor is advantageously administered before or very early in the course of infection by a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, or SARS-Cov-2.

This disclosure relates to new methods for antibody characterization sequencing, such as middle down antibody characterization and sequencing, for example, for de novo antibody sequencing, identifying known antibodies in a sample, or verifying the sequence of antibodies in a sample. In some embodiments, the methods involve exposing antibodies to cathepsin D, cathepsin L, and/or cathepsin D and L, followed by mass spectrometry and sequence identification and deconvolution.

Provided herein are methods and devices related to inducing a population of self-renewing or senescent stem cells, to produce one or more beneficial factors for the treatment of a disease or disorder in an individual. Also provided are compositions and methods for inducing senescence, useful for inducing senescence in a population of stem cells, in order to produce one or more beneficial factors for the treatment of a disease or disorder in an individual. Methods and devices to control and customize the production of the beneficial factors for the requirements of a disease or disorder being treated are described. Also provided are factor production units for the production of the beneficial factors, and devices for the delivery of the beneficial factors to an individual in need.

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for monitoring, diagnosis, prognosis, and determination of treatment regimens in subjects suffering from or suspected of having a renal injury. In particular, the invention relates to using assays that detect one or more of Follistatin-related protein 3, Basigin, Cathepsin B, and Tenascin as diagnostic and prognostic bio-marker assays in renal injuries.

Compositions, methods, and kits are provided for assaying calpain-5 activity and inhibition. In particular, novel peptide substrates are provided for detecting calpain-5, measuring calpain-5 activity, and screening for inhibitors of calpain-5 to identify potential therapeutic agents for treating retinal diseases and other diseases associated with calpain-5 hyperactivity. Additionally, novel inhibitors of calpain-5 are also provided.

Provided is a novel fluorescent probe which can be used in a spray manner, has an outstandingly high sensitivity-specificity with instantaneousness, and enables detection of a brain tumor.

A fluorescent probe for detecting a brain tumor, including a compound of the following formula (I) or a salt thereof:

##STR00001##

wherein P1 represents an arginine residue, a histidine residue or a tyrosine residue, P2 represents a proline residue or a glycine residue, where P1 is linked to an adjacent N atom by forming an amide bond, and P2 is linked to P1 by forming an amide bond; R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom, or 1 to 4 identical or different substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of an optionally substituted alkyl group, a carboxyl group, an ester group, an alkoxy group, an amide group and an azide group; R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, an optionally substituted alkyl group or a halogen atom; R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group;

X represents O, Si(R.sup.a)(R.sup.b), Ge(R.sup.a)(R.sup.b), Sn(R.sup.a)(R.sup.b), C(R.sup.a) (R.sup.b) or P(═O)(R.sup.a); R.sup.a and R.sup.b each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an aryl group; and Y represents a C.sub.1-C.sub.3 alkylene group.

The present invention relates to methods of determining cancer cell sensitivity to treatment by using antibodies to detect the presence of heterodimers in the cell, as well as to determine the relationship between the antibody binding to the heterodimer in the cancer cell and the sensitivity of the cell to cancer treatment. The invention also provides a method of predicting therapeutic efficacy in a cancer patient.

The present invention relates to improved methods for detecting immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, and new therapies for diseases and conditions mediated by pathogenic antibodies and antibody complexes.

A probe for measuring the activity of caspase-1 according to the present disclosure can specifically image cells or tissues where inflammatory response is induced because it is cleaved by reacting specifically with the active caspase-1 enzyme in vivo and in vitro and re-emits fluorescence. The probe for measuring the activity of caspase-1 can be used for various purposes, such as for imaging of cells or tissues where inflammatory response is induced, as a drug carrier, for screening of a drug inhibiting inflammatory response, etc. The probe for measuring the activity of caspase-1 is applicable both in vivo and in vitro, and can be used for various applications such as high-throughput screening for new drug development, early diagnosis of diseases, etc.

An electrochemical method for measuring the activity of enzymes using nanoelectrode arrays fabricated with vertically aligned carbon nanofibers. Short peptide substrates specific to disease-related enzymes are covalently attached to the exposed nanofiber tips. A redox moiety, such as ferrocene, can be linked at the distal end of the nanofibers. Contact of the arrays with a biological sample containing one or more target enzymes results in cleavage of the peptides and changes the redox signal of the redox moiety indicating the presence of the target enzymes.