Diazeniumdiolates comprise a diverse class of NO-releasing compounds and materials that are known to exhibit sufficient stability to be useful as therapeutics.

HMGN polypeptides belong to the high mobility group (HMG) family of chromosomal binding peptides. HMGN polypeptides typically function inside the cell nucleus to bind to DNA and nucleosomes and regulate the transcription of various genes. HMGN polypeptides also can be released by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, the extracellular release of a HMGN polypeptide initiates activation of the immune system. Therefore, it has potential use as a biological therapeutic for stimulating an immune response.

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. 

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. 

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.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a major global health challenge despite the advancement made in development of effective antiretrovirals (ARVs). ARVs are effective at limiting replication and spread of the virus, and progression to acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, ARVs often lead to emergence of drug-resistant virus strains insensitive to treatment and with toxic effects following long-term usage.

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.

Hydrogels represent an attractive controlled drug-delivery system that have been used in various clinical applications, such as: tissue engineering for wound healing, surgical procedures, pain management, cardiology, and oncology. High-water content of hydrogels confers tissue-like physical properties and the crosslinked fibrillar network enables encapsulation of labile small molecule drugs, peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, proteins, nanoparticles, or cells.

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.

The Zbtb7b gene encodes the zinc finger transcription factor ThPOK (also known as cKrox) that promotes CD4 lineage differentiation in immature T cells. CD4+ T cells, also known as “helper” T cells, are critical for long-term immunity against pathogens as well as for promoting CD8+ “effector” T cell and effective B cell responses. ThPOK is needed for the development and functional fitness of CD4+ T cells as well as multiple aspects of the immune response to infection. As such, ThPOK offers a potential target for immune regulation.