Abstract:
Provided herein are genetically modified arenaviruses suitable as vaccines against mycobacterial infections. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions and methods for the prevention and treatment of mycobacterial infections. Specifically, provided herein are pharmaceutical compositions, vaccines, and methods of preventing and treating infections in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Abstract:
It is intended to provide a liposome preparation which is a liposome, has a lipid bilayer membrane composed of an inner membrane constituted by a lipid including one or more types of functional lipids (a lipid capable of chemically interacting with another compound such as a charged lipid, a polarizable lipid, a lipid-soluble lipid or a water-soluble lipid) and an outer membrane constituted by a lipid with or without including one or more types of functional lipids, and is characterized in that at least a condition that the amount of any one type of functional lipid contained in the inner membrane is larger than in the outer membrane is satisfied. The liposome preparation is suitable as a liposome for encapsulating a contrast agent (a neutral substance having a hydroxy group), siRNA (an anionic substance) having an anticancer activity or the like. Its encapsulation ratio of drug agents, dispersion stability, control release and the like have been improved.
Abstract:
Isolated peptides comprising nuclear targeting activity or being capable of preventing endogenous nuclear targeting activity are disclosed. Polynucleotides encoding same, pharmaceutical compositions comprising same, as well as uses thereof are also disclosed.
Abstract:
Methods to improve the tropism or other features of a virus are disclosed. Such methods can be used to prepare, e.g., DNA or plasmid libraries of variants of a gene encoding a viral capsid or envelope protein having a randomly inserted restriction site, libraries of viral clones with such variant genes with a randomly inserted restriction site or polypeptide sequence targeting a receptor expressed by a specific type of mammalian cells. Described are also methods to prepare mosaic viruses, i.e., viral particles wherein copies of one or more capsid or envelope proteins originate from different sources. These methods can be used to prepare mosaic viruses of a specific mixture of wild-type and mutant proteins, or of different types of mutant proteins.
Abstract:
Nanoparticle-based compositions, assays, kits, methods and platforms for delivering an antigen (peptides, proteins) or a nucleic acid encoding an antigen to professional APCs (PAPCs) result in the generation of autologous APCs that present a natural peptide repertoire of the antigen for use in assessing the efficacy of a vaccine (e.g., a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to a particular antigen) or other therapy or intervention (cell-based therapy, adjuvant therapy, etc.). The compositions, kits, assays and methods also can be used for delivering a drug or biologic or portion thereof to APCs for assessing the immunogenicity of drugs and biologics. The composition, kits, assays and methods involve the combined use of MHC targeting, universal DR binding peptides (e.g., PADRE, HA) with charged (e.g., positively-charged) highly branched polymeric dendrimers (e.g., PAMAM and other dendrimers) as vehicles for the targeted delivery of nucleic acids, peptides, biologics, drugs, or polypeptides to APCs, giving rise to a new nanoparticle-based method for assessing the immune response (CTL response) to a vaccination or other therapy or intervention, or for assessing the immunogenicity of a biologic or drug. Targeted delivery of nucleic acids, peptides, biologics, drugs, or polypeptides to APCs for effective expression and processing generates more physiologically relevant target antigens for evaluation of cell-mediated immune responses to vaccination, for example, and provides a low-cost approach for rapid generation of reagents and development of assay systems for more accurate profiling of immunological responses to infection, immunization, and other therapies or interventions. Immunoevaluation kits using targeted nanoparticle-based antigen delivery are described herein.
Abstract:
To provide a new technique by which efficient transfection is ensured in delivering a target gene into a cell, disclosed is a nucleic acid construct for nuclear import, which comprises a ternary complex consisting of a nucleic acid substance containing a gene to be delivered into the nucleus of a cell, an importin protein (for example, importin-β) capable of passing through the nuclear pore and involved in the nuclear transport, and a binding substance (for example, polyethyleneimine) bound to both of the nucleic acid substance and the importin protein. Nucleic acid transport from outside of a cell into the cell nucleus can be particularly promoted by administering the nucleic acid construct bound to a cell membrane receptor binding factor and/or a membrane fusing substance, or administering the nucleic acid construct encapsulated in a non-viral vector (for example, Sendai virus envelope) having cell membrane permeability and membrane fusing properties.
Abstract:
Viral capsid proteins with increased targeting to neurons and increased retrograde transport are described. Chimeric virus particles comprising capsid proteins that (i) increase targeting to neurons and (ii) increase retrograde transport of the virus particle are described. Methods for introducing a nucleic acid into a neuron are also described.
Abstract:
Provided herein are a variety of methods and compositions for regulating angiogenesis, such methods and compositions being useful in a variety of applications where modulation of vascular formation is useful, including, but not limited to, treatments for ischemia and wound healing. Certain of the methods and compositions accomplish this by using various zinc finger proteins that bind to particular target sites in one or more VEGF genes. Nucleic acids encoding the zinc finger proteins are also disclosed. Methods for modulating the expression of one or more VEGF genes with the zinc finger proteins and nucleic acids are also disclosed. Such methods can also be utilized in a variety of therapeutic applications that involve the regulation of endothelial cell growth. Pharmaceutical compositions including the zinc finger proteins or nucleic acids encoding them are also provided.
Abstract:
A method is disclosed for releasing the transcriptional regulation caused by a repeated sequence in a gene, a kit therefor and so on to thereby establish a system capable of producing a protein in a large amount. At least one embodiment of the method can be achieved by any one or more of the following methods: (a) in the amplification of a gene encoding a target protein, co-amplifying a polynucleotide of 10 kbp or more such as a λ-phage DNA or an insulator sequence; (b) selecting by culturing cells having undergone gene amplification in media containing a drug with a gradual increase in concentration; (c) elevating the promoter activity of inducing the expression of a gene encoding a target protein; (d) excising an amplified gene region from a chromosome with the use of Cre-LoxP System; (e) treating cells having undergone gene amplification with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine to thereby lower the methylation degree of DNA; and (f) selecting the mammalian cells having undergone gene amplification on double minute chromosomes.
Abstract:
Systems for pathotropic (disease-seeking) targeted gene delivery are provided, including viral particles with extremely high titers. In particular, the viral particles are engineered to specifically deliver therapeutic or diagnostic agents to a disease site, such as cancer metastic sites. Personalized dosing regimens are also provided to treat diseases such as cancer efficaciously with reduced adverse side effects.