Anti-CD133 Monoclonal Antibodies as Cancer Therapeutics
Most early work on CD133 was carried out using one of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), AC133 and AC141, which recognize an undefined glycosylated epitope of CD 133.
Anti-bacterial Treatments Using Peptide-Based Inhibitors of the STAT3-IL10 Pathway
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that typically affects the lungs. Current therapies include a panel of antibiotics given over a range of 6-9 months. As a result of the expense of treatment, the extended timeframe needed for effective treatment, and the scarcity of medicines in some developing countries, patient compliance with TB treatment is very low and results in multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). There remains a need for a faster, more effective treatment for TB.
Methods of analyzing virus-derived therapeutics
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute’s Biopharmaceutical Development Program recently developed massively parallel sequencing methods for virus-derived therapeutics such as viral vaccines and oncolytic immunotherapies.
Hydrocarbon Stapled Peptides that Inhibit the Linear Ubiquitin Chain Assembly Complex (LUBAC) for the Therapy of the Activated B Cell-like (ABC) Subtype of Diffuse Large B Bell Lymphoma (A Type of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma)
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and consists of three subtypes: activated B-cell (ABC), germinal center B-cell (GBC), and primary mediastinal B-cell (PMB). Despite advances in the front-line therapy for DLBCL, approximately one-third of patients will relapse. Substantially worse outcomes have been reported for patients diagnosed with ABC DLBCL and treated with standard chemoimmunotherapy, suggesting the need for novel strategies that improve treatment outcomes.
Nitric Oxide-Releasing Polymers for Wound Healing
A number of factors can play a detrimental role in the process of wound healing such as poor nutritional status, smoking, various drugs, cancer, and diabetes. Wound healing impairment is a challenging clinical problem with no efficacious treatments currently available. Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to play a role in the process of wound healing by promoting both the proliferative and remodeling phases of healing.
Cancer Therapeutic Agents that Bind to STAT Proteins
The National Cancer Institute, Cancer and Inflammation Program seeks parties interested in collaborative research to further co-develop inhibitors of STAT proteins for the treatment of cancer.
Peptide Inhibitors for Viral Infections and as Anti-inflammatory Agents
IFN-gamma and IL-10 are cytokine signaling molecules that play fundamental roles in inflammation, cancer growth and autoimmune diseases. Unfortunately, there are no specific inhibitors of IFN-gamma or IL-10 on the market to date.
Cancer Therapeutic based on Stimulation of Natural Killer T-cell Anti-tumor Activity
Natural killer T cells (NKT) are a unique lymphocyte population that has T-cell and NK cell functional properties in order to rapidly elicit an immune response. alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) is a potent NKT stimulator and induces of IFN-gamma release to promote immunity against tumors and infectious agents. Humans have natural antibodies against alpha-galactose, which may be one of the reasons why the human clinical trials of alpha-GalCer or KRN7000 were not very successful.
Monoclonal Antibodies That Bind to the Underside of Influenza Viral Neuraminidase
Current influenza vaccines mainly induce antibodies against the surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) that block viral attachment to its host receptors and viral membrane fusion to the host cell. The immunodominant head region of HA undergoes antigenic drift and antibodies directed to the head confer little cross-protections between strains or subtypes.
Neutralizing Antibodies to Influenza HA and Their Use and Identification
The effectiveness of current influenza vaccines varies by strain and season, in part because influenza viruses continuously evolve to evade human immune responses. While the majority of seasonal influenza infections cause relatively mild symptoms, each year influenza virus infections result in over 500,000 hospitalizations in the United States and Europe. Current standard of care for individuals hospitalized with uncomplicated influenza infection is administration of neuraminidase inhibitors.