Investigators at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered compounds that have potential as novel anti-androgen therapeutics. The immunophilin protein FKBP52 is part of a protein complex that helps fold the androgen receptor (AR) protein, a target for treating prostate cancer, and enhances its activity. Disruption of the FKPB52-AR interaction greatly reduces the activity of the AR.

Clinically known as Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses (NCL), Batten disease, is a rare neuron killing disease and one of the lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs).  It is associated with a mutation or lack of palmitoyl-protein thioesterase-1 (PPT1) gene. It manifests very early in a child's life causing absence of brain activity as early as 4 years of age.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using genetically engineered T-cell receptors (TCRs) is a promising cancer treatment. These TCRs target genetic mutations unique to patients and play an important role in tumor regression. However, mutation-reactive T-cells and their TCRs can be difficult to identify and isolate from patients. Therefore, we need more efficient methods of isolating mutation-reactive T-cells for use with ACT. 

Medical clamps currently available are not efficient nor are they sufficiently precise in closure and alignment of the edges of an incision or wound. Many available designs are difficult to use and handle, especially in situations where repeated opening and closure of an incision or wound is required. The functional short-comings of existing clamp designs may result in surgical complications, such as excess loss of fluids and pressure and hemostasis during some procedures.

The National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Neurosciences-Receptor Pharmacology Unit is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize biomedical informatics.

Despite recent breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy, T-cell based therapies achieve limited efficacy in solid tumors. Immunosuppression, antigen escape and physical barriers to entry into solid tumors are issues faced. Identifying regulators in T-cell dysfunction remains challenging due to limitations of current screening platforms. 

Common methods of cancer therapy largely rely on either direct killing of cancer cells or activation of the host immune response to do so, but not both. A recently developed treatment of tumors uses an antibody/photo-absorber, Ab-IR700, with near infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT), to selectively kill IR700-bound and NIR-light-exposed cancer cells by activating an immunogenic cell death pathway. NIR-PIT has been shown in human clinical trials to effectively target tumor cells via a host immune response with relatively few side effects.

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. 

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) with high affinity for mesothelin that can be used as an immunotherapy to treat cancers that express mesothelin, such as pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and mesothelioma. The technology includes CAR constructs with one of three different mesothelin-specific antibody portions, including either the mouse-derived SS or SS1 antibody fragments or the human HN1 antibody fragment.

Bone-loss-related diseases, such as periodontitis, are characterized by an imbalance between the formation and activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, leading to bone loss. There are several signaling pathways that participate in the osteoclastogenesis process. Finding inhibitors of these pathways and other osteoclastogenesis-related pathways may have an effect on bone-loss diseases.