Improved Botulism, Botulinum Neurotoxin Type-E Diagnostics

CDC researchers have improved upon a prior, HHS patented mass spectrometry-based Endopep-MS assay that is able to rapidly detect and differentiate all seven botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) types A to G. This current improvement comprises the addition of two optimized substrate peptides that increases the assay's sensitivity,relative to prior substrates, for botulinum neurotoxin type-E (BoNT/E) by greater than 100 fold.

Prevention or Treatment of Viral Infections by Inhibition of the Histone Methyltransferases EZH1/2

Herpes simplex viral infections, including herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), are exceptionally common worldwide. These viruses establish lifelong persistent infections with cycles of lytic reactivation to produce recurrent diseases including oral and genital lesions, herpetic keratitis/blindness, congenital-developmental syndromes, and viral encephalitis. Infection with HSV-2 increases the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in coinfected individuals. DNA replication inhibitors are typically used to treat herpesvirus infections.

Multi Protein Nanoparticle Monkeypox Vaccine

In 2022, the World Health Organization declared an atypical outbreak of monkeypox (Mpox), which has caused approximately 30,000 cases of Mpox infection within the United States as of April 2023. Mpox represents a current threat to public health, and there is an immediate need for an effective vaccine. To address this, NIAID has developed a vaccine approach comprising virus-like nanoparticles coated with modified Mpox proteins.

Francisella Lipids as Broad Anti-inflammatory Therapeutics

Anti-inflammatory treatments, particularly those used in the context of viral infection, have been shown to greatly inhibit the overall immune response, which can result in poor immunity and failure to control or clear the infection. Novel alternatives that can effectively attenuate inflammation without the more serious side effects of steroid medications (e.g., global immune suppression, muscle weakness, etc.) may have substantial use across a wide range of disease areas.

The Use of alpha-4 beta-7 integrin Inhibitors to Inhibit HIV Transmission and Infection

This invention involves the use of inhibitors of alpha-4 beta-7 (a4b7) integrin to inhibit HIV transmission/infection, as a prophylactic to inhibit onset of the acute stage of HIV infection or to treat HIV infection. The a4b7 integrin inhibitors were previously developed for use in other diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or inflammatory bowel disease.

Broadly Neutralizing Human Anti-HIV Monoclonal Antibody 10E8 and Related Antibodies Capable of Neutralizing Most HIV-1 Strains

The uses for human anti-HIV monoclonal antibody 10E8 and its variants include passive immunization, therapeutic vaccination, and the development of vaccine immunogens. 10E8 is one of the most potent HIV-neutralizing antibodies isolated and it neutralizes up to 98% of diverse HIV-1 strains. 10E8 is specific to the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV envelope protein gp41 and 10E8 is orthogonal to other anti-HIV antibodies. In combination with other antibodies 10E8 may provide an antibody response that neutralizes nearly all strains of HIV-1.

Dual-Germline Antibody Engager Chimeric HIV–1 Immunogens

Despite four decades of intensive research, a safe and effective HIV-1 vaccine remains elusive due to the extreme difficulty in eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), which recognize and block HIV-1 from entering healthy cells. Only rare natural HIV-1 envelopes (Envs) promote the activation and expansion of naive B cells expressing unmutated germline antibodies of various bNAb lineages, but they typically do so for a single lineage for the same neutralization site.

Human Monoclonal Antibodies to Generate Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells to Treat Patients with Advanced Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC).

This technology includes six human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target tumor antigens derived from the CT-RCC HERV-E (human endogenous retrovirus type E) to generate Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells to treat patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). These mAbs were identified from Adagene Inc’s human antibody phage library, and data show that majority of these mAbs only bind to CT-RCC HERV-E+ ccRCC cells, which express TM but not CT-RCC HERV-E non-expressing ccRCC cells nor non-RCC cells.

Antibody to Mitochondrial Uniporter (MCU

This technology includes a generated polyclonal antibody in rabbit that detects the mitochondrial uniporter (MCU) protein. This antibody was created by immunizing rabbits with a synthesized sequence of the MCU protein and can be used to identify and quantify MCU protein in various tissues. The polyclonal nature of the antibody ensures it recognizes multiple epitopes on the MCU, enhancing detection reliability. This technology is crucial for understanding MCU's role in mitochondrial function and mammalian physiology.

Subscribe to Pre-Clinical (in vitro)