Preparation of Substituted Diarylpropanamides as RORgt Antagonists for the Treatment of Th17-related Autoimmune Diseases
Optical Configuration Methods for Spectral Scatter Flow Cytometry
Multi-parameter flow cytometry has been extensively used in multiple disciplines of biological discoveries, including immunology and cancer research. However, the disadvantage of traditional flow cytometry platforms using excitation lasers and fluorescence detectors is spectral overlap when using multiple dyes on the same biological sample. Metaethical compensation of spectral overlap could only be effective to a certain degree. Mass cytometry is advantageous compared to flow cytometry but is pricey and requires highly skilled operators.
Exo-Clean Technology for Purifying Extracellular Vesicle Preparations from Contaminants
Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, are nanometer-sized membranous vesicles that can carry different types of cargos, such as proteins, nucleic acids and metabolites. EVs are produced and released by most cell types. They act as biological mediators for intercellular communication via delivery of their cargos. This unique ability spurred translational research interest for targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules to treat a wide range of diseases. EVs also contain interesting information of their specific cellular origin.
Optimized Monospecific or Bicistronic Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Constructs Targeting CD19 and CD20
Patients with chemotherapy-refractory, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have poor prognoses. CD19 and CD20 are promising targets for the treatment of B-Cell malignancies. However, despite the initial promising results from anti-CD19 CAR therapy, only 30-35% of patients with DLBCL achieve remissions lasting longer than 2-3 years after anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy. Relapse and non-response are likely due to diminished CD19 expression after anti-CD19 therapy and low expression of CD19 in some lymphomas.
Time Efficient Multi-Pulsed Field Gradient (mPFG) MRI Without Concomitant Gradient Field Artifacts
Measuring and mapping nervous tissue microstructure noninvasively is a long sought-after goal in neuroscience. Clinically, several neuropathologies such as cancer and stroke, are associated with changes in tissue microstructure. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which models diffusion anisotropy, is an ideal imaging modality to elucidate these changes. However, DTI provides a mean diffusion tensor averaged over the entire MRI voxel. This has limitations when applied to heterogeneous neural tissue.
Enhanced Antigen Reactivity of Immune Cells Expressing a Mutant Non-Signaling CD3 Zeta Chain
Immunotherapy is a cutting-edge new category of treatment that aims to harness and, in some cases, modify the patient’s own immune cells to improve their ability to cure diseases. It can be an effective approach for a variety of conditions, ranging from cancer to inflammatory diseases. However, a number of obstacles to the overall success of immunotherapy still exist. For example, reactivity against a target antigen can be attenuated or the lifespan of the “modified” immune cells can be too short.
Brachyury-directed Vaccine for the Prevention or Treatment of Cancers
Tumor invasion and metastasis are the primary drivers of cancer-related mortality. Therapies that have an ability to specifically target invasive and/or metastatic cells are anticipated to have a significant impact in the clinical management of advanced cancers.
Adjuvanted Mucosal Subunit Vaccines for Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Infection
The Corona virus disease, 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a worldwide public health crisis with over 153 million confirmed cases and 3.2 million deaths as of April 2021. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. SARS-COV-2 infects hosts via its spike (S) protein, which has two portions, S1 that binds the cell and S2 that is involved in viral entry via fusion with the cell membrane. There are several vaccines available for COVID-19 patients that directly target SARS-CoV-2 by systemic immunization.
Coumarin Luciferins and Mutant Luciferases for Bioluminescence Imaging
Bioluminescence imaging with luciferin-luciferase pairs is a well-established technique for tracking cells and other biological features in animal models. Bioluminescent is a chemical process which does not require an external input for excitation. Bioluminescent imaging is often limited to monitoring single processes in vivo due to the lack of distinguishable probes. Additionally, existing probes typically operate with light in the visible range, which is highly scattered and exhibits poor tissue penetration.