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In collaboration with surgery specialists from Johns Hopkins University, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed novel hydrogel compositions and methods of using them in the microsurgical suturing of blood vessels, which is particularly beneficial for surgeons in whole tissue transplant procedures. The lead candidate electropositive hydrogels, called APC1, was demonstrated in anastomosis mice models to be well tolerated, biocompatible, and non-toxic.

Papillomavirus pseudoviruses that comprise the L1/L2 capsid proteins can package a wide variety of non-viral DNA plasmids and deliver the packaged genetic material to cells. This function makes them attractive candidates as targeted gene delivery vehicles.

The development of an effective HIV vaccine has been an ongoing area of research. High variability in HIV-1 virus strains, however,  represents a major challenge.  Ideally, an effective candidate vaccine would provide protection against the majority of clades of HIV.  Two major hurdles to overcome are immunodominance and sequence diversity. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a vaccine that overcomes these major hurdles by utilizing a strategy that identifies conserved regions of the virus and exploits them for use in a targeted therapy.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring post-transcriptional gene regulation process that represses the expression of specific genes. Exploiting endogenous RNAi by externally-delivered small-interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising therapeutic for the treatment of various diseases representing several major unmet medical needs. 

One problem with the development of immunotherapy for cancer or other diseases is the inability to stimulate a sufficient immune response in patients to tumor associated antigens. The Linker Adapted for T Cell Signaling molecule (LAT) has been shown to be an important molecule in T cell signaling. The inventions described and claimed in this patent application illustrate a new supportive role for LAT which may be harnessed to improve a patient's immune response to tumor-associated antigens.

The invention relates to novel lipid-based nanoparticles (liposomes) for use in targeted, on demand and on site drug delivery. The particles include a wall surrounding a cavity, wherein the wall is comprised of:

1. A lipid bilayer comprising 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC_8,9PC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-

phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG2000), and

Griffithsin is a potent anti-viral protein with activity against HIV, HCV, Sars, HSV 1 & 2 and other viruses.  It is active against HIV and HCV at picomolar concentrations.  Griffithsin is moving into clinical trials as an anti-HIV microbicide. Based on the structure of griffithsin and the necessities of pharmaceutical product development and regulatory approval, certain mutations in the sequence of griffithsin have been generated which could add to the stability and solubility of the protein.

Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV) is a very common virus; nearly 80 million people—about one in four—are currently infected in the United States. HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses. Each HPV virus in this large group is given a number which is called its HPV type. HPV is named for the warts (papillomas) some that HPV types can cause. Some other HPV types can lead to cancer, especially cervical cancer.

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.

Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (“INSTIs”) are currently in use as a component of prophylactic antiretroviral therapy for preventing HIV-1 infection from progressing to AIDS. Three INSTIs are approved by the FDA for inclusion in antiretroviral regiments: raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir (EVG) and dolutegravir (DTG). Clinicians have already identified several HIV-1 integrase mutations that confer resistance to RAL and EVG, and additional mutations that confer resistance to all three INSTIs has been identified in the laboratory.