Baculoviruses have been used for decades to produce proteins in insect cell hosts. Current systems for generating recombinant baculovirus have several shortcomings which prevent their easy use in high-throughput applications.
Soluble forms of human CD4 (sCD4) inhibit HIV-1 entry into immune cells. Different forms of sCD4 and their fusion proteins have been extensively studied in animal models and clinical trials as promising HIV-1 inhibitors. However, they have not been successful in clinical trials due to their transient efficacy. sCD4 is also known to interact with class II major histocompatibility complex (MHCII) and, at low concentrations, could enhance HIV-1 infectivity.
T cells currently employed for T cell-based immunotherapies are often senescent, terminally differentiated cells with poor proliferative and survival capacity. Recently, however, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) identified and characterized a new human memory T cell population with stem cell-like properties. Since these T cells have limited quantities in vivo, the scientists have developed methods by which high numbers of these cells can be generated ex vivo for use in T cell-based immunotherapies.
The HIV-positive population continues to rise despite a worldwide decline in the rates of infection caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus continues to spread due to a lack of effective vaccines and pre-exposure prophylaxis methods, even though the availability and effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy has helped reduce acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a method of stimulating an immune response in humans at risk for infection by, or already infected with, an Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 retrovirus. This method utilizes deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccines to stimulate CD8+ T cell immune responses. The DNA vaccine encodes antigens known to be effective against retroviruses, such as HIV-1gag, gp120, nefCTL, and proCTL. The same antigens are also expressed by the pox virus vaccine, which elicits an increased immune response when combined with the DNA vaccine.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a new method of improving the efficacy of vaccines in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by activating Ras. This method can be used to develop more efficacious vaccine compositions by activating Ras before, during, or after vaccination. Additionally, the researchers discovered that modulation of the Ras pathways could be a predictive biomarker of protection against HIV.
Englerin A, a natural product, has shown growth-inhibiting activity against renal cancer cell lines. The compound is an agonist of protein kinase C (PCK) theta, which results in cell cytotoxicity, insulin inhibition, and selective activation of viral replication in T cells. Englerin A derivatives are promising treatment strategies for any diseases associated with PKC theta and/or ion channel proteins.
Soluble forms of human CD4 (sCD4) inhibit HIV-1 entry into immune cells. Different forms of sCD4 and their fusion proteins have been extensively studied as promising HIV-1 inhibitors – including in animal models and clinical trials. However, they have not been successful in human studies due to their transient efficacy. sCD4 is also known to interact with class II major histocompatibility complex (MHCII) and, at low concentrations, could enhance HIV-1 infectivity.
Despite therapeutic advances, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is still a pervasive disease, with approximately 37 million people infected worldwide. Peptides have become popular therapeutic agents, as these proteins offer structural diversity for many different diseases. Several peptides were commercially developed as HIV therapeutics, demonstrating the high potential for peptides in treating HIV.
Drug delivery technologies have long claimed the ability to selectively deliver therapeutic cargo to target cells. Despite advances in nanomedicine and drug delivery systems, there are no targeted nanoscale drug delivery technologies on the market. Thus, there is still tremendous potential in improved therapeutic efficacy when targeted drug delivery is achieved.