Author: Bioventures Team

The disclosure provides a method of preventing or reducing protein aggregates using combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof. The disclosure also provides methods of reducing the risk, delaying the onset, delaying or slowing the progression, or reversing the signs or symptoms of a neurodegenerative (or other age-progressive) disease using a combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof. The combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof may bind glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof is described by compounds of Formula (I).

The invention involves the discovery that if dendritic cells loaded with a tumor antigen are cultured in interleukin-15 (IL-15), or if T cells activated by the dendritic cells are cultured in IL-15, Treg activity that is specific for the tumor antigen is reduced. This reduction in Treg activity results in an increase in anti-tumor immune response. Another embodiment of the invention involves the discovery that incubating dendritic cells with a MAP kinase inhibitor in combination with IL-15 gives synergistic benefits when the dendritic cells are used to activate T cells. Dendritic cell and T cell compositions incubated with IL-15 or a MAP kinase inhibitor are provided.

Compositions useful to induce anti-TACA immune response and kits comprising the same and methods of using the compositions to treat and prevent cancer are disclosed. Isolated human antibodies which bind to a carbohydrate mimetic peptide and methods of making the same and using the same to treat and prevent cancer are disclosed. Isolated human NK cells useful to kill tumor cells, and isolated human dendritic cells, and methods of making the same and using the same to treat and prevent cancer are disclosed.

The invention generally features compositions and methods for expanding long term hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a population of cells. In particular, the invention relates to a method of expanding long term HSCs by culturing an initial population of HSCs with macrophages that promote self-renewal of long term HSCs. The expanded cell population provides a source of cells for therapeutic treatments utilizing HSC transplantation.