4788 results about "White blood cell" patented technology

Peripheral blood leucocytes incubated with a semi-synthetic phage antibody library and fluorochrome-labeled CD3 and CD20 antibodies were used to isolate human single chain Fv antibodies specific for subsets of blood leucocytes by flow cytometry. Isolated phage antibodies showed exclusive binding to the subpopulation used for selection or displayed additional binding to a restricted population of other cells in the mixture. At least two phage antibodies appeared to display hithereto unknown staining patterns of B lineage cells. This approach provides a subtractive procedure to rapidly obtain human antibodies against known and novel surface antigens in their native configuration, expressed on phenotypically defined subpopulations of cells. Importantly, this approach does not depend on immunization procedures or the necessity to repeatedly construct phage antibody libraries.

Compositions and methods are provided for modifying a rat genomic locus of interest using a large targeting vector (LTVEC) comprising various endogenous or exogenous nucleic acid sequences as described herein. Compositions and methods for generating a genetically modified rat comprising one or more targeted genetic modifications in their germline are also provided. Compositions and methods are provided which comprise a genetically modified rat or rat cell comprising a targeted genetic modification in the rat interleukin-2 receptor gamma locus, the rat ApoE locus, the rat Rag2 locus, the rat Rag1 locus and / or the rat Rag2 / Rag1 locus. The various methods and compositions provided herein allows for these modified loci to be transmitted through the germline.

Methods of inhibiting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase delta isoform (PI3Kδ) activity, and methods of treating diseases, such as disorders of immunity and inflammation, in which PI3Kδ plays a role in leukocyte function are disclosed. Preferably, the methods employ active agents that selectively inhibit PI3Kδ, while not significantly inhibiting activity of other PI3K isoforms. Compounds are provided that inhibit PI3Kδ activity, including compounds that selectively inhibit PI3Kδ activity. Methods of using PI3Kδ inhibitory compounds to inhibit cancer cell growth or proliferation are also provided. Accordingly, the invention provides methods of using PI3Kδ inhibitory compounds to inhibit PI3Kδ-mediated processes in vitro and in vivo.

Method and apparatus for reflected imaging analysis. Reflected imaging is used to perform non-invasive, in vivo analysis of a subject's vascular system. A raw reflected image (110) is normalized with respect to the background to form a corrected reflected image (120). An analysis image (130) is segmented from the corrected reflected image to include a scene of interest for analysis. The method and apparatus can be used to determine such characteristics as the hemoglobin concentration per unit volume of blood, the number of white blood cells per unit volume of blood, a mean cell volume, the number of platelets per unit volume of blood, and the hematocrit. Cross-polarizers can be used to improve visualization of the reflected image.

The invention features devices and methods for enriching a sample in one or more desired particles. An exemplary use of these devices and methods is for the enrichment of cells, e.g., white blood cells in a blood sample. In general, the methods of the invention employ a device that contains at least one sieve through which particles of a given size, shape, or deformability can pass. Devices of the invention have at least two outlets, and the sieve is placed such that a continuous flow of fluid can pass through the device without passing through the sieve. The devices also include a force generator for directing selected particles through the sieve. Such force generators employ, for example, diffusion, electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis, centrifugal force, or pressure-driven flow.

The enumeration of cells in fluids by flow cytometry is widely used across many disciplines such as assessment of leukocyte subsets in different bodily fluids or of bacterial contamination in environmental samples, food products and bodily fluids. For many applications the cost, size and complexity of the instruments prevents wider use, for example, CD4 analysis in HIV monitoring in resource-poor countries. The novel device, methods and algorithms disclosed herein largely overcome these limitations. Briefly, all cells in a biological sample are fluorescently labeled, but only the target cells are also magnetically labeled. The labeled sample, in a chamber or cuvet, is placed between two wedge-shaped magnets to selectively move the magnetically labeled cells to the observation surface of the cuvet. An LED illuminates the cells and a CCD camera captures the images of the fluorescent light emitted by the target cells. Image analysis performed with a novel algorithm provides a count of the cells on the surface that can be related to the target cell concentration of the original sample. The compact cytometer system provides a rugged, affordable and easy-to-use technique, which can be used in remote locations.

This invention relates to a novel microfluidic device and methods of using this device to conduct in vitro studies on the reaction and effects of various compounds on cells. More particularly, it relates to a method for using stop flow in a microfluidic system to study the effect of compounds on individual cells. It also provides a method for observing the effects of candidate compounds on leukocyte rolling.

Systems and methods analyzing body fluids such as blood and bone marrow are disclosed. The systems and methods may utilize an improved technique for applying a monolayer of cells to a slide to generate a substantially uniform distribution of cells on the slide. Additionally aspects of the invention also relate to systems and methods for utilizing multi color microscopy for improving the quality of images captured by a light receiving device.

A method for isolating nucleic acid which comprises:(a) applying a sample comprising cells containing nucleic acid to a filter, whereby the cells are retained as a retentate and contaminants are removed;(b) lysing the retentate from step (a) while the retentate is retained by the filter to form a cell lysate containing the nucleic acid;(c) filtering the cell lysate with the filter to retain the nucleic acid and remove remaining cell lysate;(d) optionally washing the nucleic acid retained by the filter; and(e) eluting the nucleic acid, wherein the filter composition and dimensions are selected so that the filter is capable of retaining the cells and the nucleic acid.Additionally, there is provided a substrate for lysing cells and purifying nucleic acid having a matrix and a coating and an integrity maintainer for maintaining the purified nucleic acid. Also provided is a method of purifying nucleic acid by applying a nucleic acid sample to a substrate having an anionic detergent affixed to a matrix, the substrate physically capturing the nucleic acid, bonding the nucleic acid to a substrate and generating a signal when the nucleic acid bonds to the substrate indicating the presence of the nucleic acid. A kit for purifying nucleic acid containing a coated matrix and an integrity maintenance provider for preserving the matrix and purifying nucleic acid is also provided. Further, there is provided a method for quantifying DNA, such as double-stranded or genomic DNA, isolated from cells, such as leukocytes to determine the numbers of leukocytes in a sample of leukoreduced blood.

The present invention provides novel nucleic acids, the novel polypeptide sequences encoded by these nucleic acids and uses thereof. These novel polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences were determined to be a novel Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist.

The present invention recognizes that diagnosis and prognosis of many conditions can depend on the enrichment of rare cells, especially tumor cells, from a complex fluid sample such as a blood sample. In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and compositions for detecting a non-hematopoietic cell, e.g., a non-hematopoietic tumor cell, in a blood sample via, inter alia, removing red blood cells (RBCs) from a blood sample using a non-centrifugation procedure, removing white blood cells (WBCs) from said blood sample to enrich a non-hematopoietic cell, if any, from said blood sample; and assessing the presence, absence and / or amount of said enriched non-hematopoietic cell.

Methods and compositions for inhibiting interleukin-21 (IL-21) / IL-21 receptor (MU-1) activity using antagonists of IL-21 or IL-21 receptor (“IL-21R” or “MU-1”), are disclosed. IL-21 / IL-21R antagonists can be used to induce immune suppression in vivo, e.g., for treating, ameliorating or preventing autoimmune or inflammatory disorders, including, e.g., inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), transplant / graft rejection, psoriasis, asthma, fibrosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The present invention provides a system for enhancing clearance or destruction of undesirable cells or noncellular molecular entities by tagging such cells or noncellular molecular entities with a marker that targets the cells or noncellular molecular entities for phagocytosis (phagocytic marker). The target cells can be, for example, endothelial cells, tumor cells, leukocytes, or virus-infected cells. In certain embodiments of the invention the tagging is accomplished by administering a composition comprising an antibody or ligand linked to the phagcytotic marker, wherein the antibody or ligand binds to a cell type specific marker present on or in the cell surface of a target cell. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the phagocytic marker comprises phosphatidylserine or a group derived from phosphatidylserine, thrombospondin-1, annexin I, or a derivative of any of these.

This invention relates to a method for prevention and treatment of aging and age-related disorders including atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some forms of arthritis and cancer in a subject comprising administering to said subject, separately, sequentially or simultaneously a therapeutically effective dosage of each component or combination of statins, bisphosphonates, cholesterol lowering agents or techniques, interleukin-6 inhibitor / antibody, interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor / antibody, interleukin-6 antisense oligonucleotide (ASON), gp130 protein inhibitor / antibody, tyrosine kinases inhibitors / antibodies, serine / threonine kinases inhibitors / antibodies, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitors / antibodies, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors / antibodies, Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) inhibitors / antibodies, IκB kinase (IKK) inhibitors / antibodies, activator protein-1 (AP-1) inhibitors / antibodies, STAT transcription factors inhibitors / antibodies, altered IL-6, partial peptides of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor, or SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signaling) protein, or a functional fragment thereof, administered separately, in sequence or simultaneously. Inhibition of the signal transduction pathway for Interleukin 6 mediated inflammation is key to the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, aging and age-related disorders including osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some forms of arthritis and tumors. Inhibition of Interleukin 6 mediated inflammation may be achieved indirectly through regulation of endogenous cholesterol synthesis and isoprenoid depletion or by direct inhibition of the signal transduction pathway utilizing interleukin-6 inhibitor / antibody, interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor / antibody, interleukin-6 antisense oligonucleotide (ASON), gp130 protein inhibitor / antibody, tyrosine kinases inhibitors / antibodies, serine / threonine kinases inhibitors / antibodies, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitors / antibodies, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors / antibodies, Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) inhibitors / antibodies, IκB kinase (IKK) inhibitors / antibodies, activator protein-1 (AP-1) inhibitors / antibodies, STAT transcription factors inhibitors / antibodies, altered IL-6, partial peptides of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor, or SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signaling) protein, or a functional fragment thereof. Said method for prevention and treatment of said disorders is based on inhibition of Interleukin-6 inflammation through regulation of cholesterol metabolism, isoprenoid depletion and / or inhibition of the signal transduction pathway.

Described are conjugates formed by an antibody fragment covalently attached to a non-proteinaceous polymer, wherein the apparent size of the conjugate is at least about 500 kD. The conjugates exhibit substantially improved half-life, mean residence time, and / or clearance rate in circulation as compared to the underivatized parental antibody fragment. Also described are conjugates directed against human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), human p185 receptor-like tyrosine kinase (HER2), human CD20, human CD18, human CD11a, human IgE, human apoptosis receptor-2 (Apo-2), human tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), human tissue factor (TF), human α4β7 integrin, human GPIIb-IIIa integrin, human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), human CD3, and human interleukin-2 receptor α-chain (TAC) for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

A multiple function pump station performs different on-line processing tasks. The pump station can be operated in one mode to draw blood from a donor can, in another mode, be operated to return blood to the donor. The pump station used to draw blood from a donor can also be used to perform subsequent blood processing tasks, such as mixing processing or additive fluids with the blood, or transfering a harvested blood component to a storage container, or finishing the processing of a harvested blood component, e.g., by passage through a filter to remove leukocytes.

A reshaped antibody comprising: (A) L chains comprising: (1) a human C region, and (2) an L chain V region comprising human L chain FRs and L chain CDRs of a mouse monoclonal antibody; and (B) H chains comprising: (1) a human H chain C region, and (2) an H chain V region comprising human H chain FRs, and H chain CDRs of a mouse monoclonal antibody to human IL-6. Since the major portions of the reshaped human antibody are derived from human, and the mouse CDRs are less immunogenic, then the present reshaped human antibody is less immunogenic, and therefore inhibits information transfer by IL-6, and is promising as a therapeutic agent for diseases caused by IL-6.

Methods and compositions generating and using an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra)-rich solution. Methods for generating and isolating interleukin-1 receptor antagonist include incubating adipose tissue and / or adipocytes with polyacrylamide beads to produce interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. The interleukin-1 receptor antagonist is isolated from the polyacrylamide beads to obtain the solution rich in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. Methods for treating a site of inflammation in a patient include administering to the site of inflammation the solution rich in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist.

The invention provides compositions containing polypeptides, including therapeutic polypeptides such as interleukin-11, that are suitable for oral administration.

Methods and compositions generating and using an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra)-rich solution. Methods for generating and isolating interleukin-1 receptor antagonist include incubating a liquid volume of white blood cells and platelets with polyacrylamide beads to produce interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. The interleukin-1 receptor antagonist is isolated from the polyacrylamide beads to obtain the solution rich in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. Methods for treating a site of inflammation in a patient include administering to the site of inflammation the solution rich in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist.

The present invention relates to immunotherapeutic methods, and molecules and cells for use in immunotherapeutic methods. In particular, the present invention relates to the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to tumour-associated T-helper cell peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumour-associated peptides, that serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions which stimulate anti-tumour immune responses. In particular, the present invention relates to two novel peptide sequences derived from HLA class II molecules of human tumour cell lines, which can be used in vaccine compositions for eliciting anti-tumour immune responses.

Disclosed are diagnostic techniques for the detection of human disease states that affect gene expression in peripheral leukocytes. The invention relates particularly to probes and methods for evaluating the presence of RNA species that are differentially expressed in the peripheral blood of individuals with such a disease state compared to normal healthy individuals. The invention further relates to methods for detection of protein species that are differentially expressed in the peripheral blood of individuals with such a disease state compared to normal healthy individuals. Genetic probes, antibody probes and methods useful in monitoring the progression and diagnosis of two specific disease states, prostatic cancer and breast cancer, are described.

The present invention relates to a therapeutic polypeptide and methods for its creation and use for modulating an immune response in a host organism in need thereof. In particular, the invention relates to the administration to an organism in need thereof, of an effective amount of a pre-coupled polypeptide complex comprising a lymphokine polypeptide portion, for example IL-15 (SEQ ID NO: 5, 6), IL-2 (SEQ ID NO: 10, 12) or combinations of both, and an interleukin receptor polypeptide portion, for example IL-15Ra (SEQ ID NO: 7, 8), IL-2Ra (SEQ ID NO: 9, 11) or combinations of both, for augmenting the immune system in, for example, cancer, SCID, AIDS, or vaccination; or inhibiting the immune system in, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, or Lupus. The therapeutic complex of the invention surprisingly demonstrates increased half-life, and efficacy in vivo.

The present invention relates to trans-capsularly administering into a diseased joint a high specificity antagonist selected from the group consisting of: i) an inhibitor of a pro-inflammatory interleukin; ii) an inhibitor of TNF-α synthesis; iii) an inhibitor of membrane-bound TNF-α; iv) an inhibitor of a natural receptor of TNF-α; v) an inhibitor of NO synthase, vi) an inhibitor of PLA2 enzyme; vii) an anti-proliferative agent; viii) an anti-oxidant; ix) an apoptosis inhibitor selected from the group consisting of EPO mimetic peptides, EPO mimetibodies, IGF-I, IGF-II, and caspase inhibitors, and x) an inhibitor of MMPs; and xi) an inhibitor of p38 kinase.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) conjugated via a linker to one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules at a single amino acid residue of the IL-10, and a method for preparing the same, are provided. The method produces a stable mono-pegylated IL-10, which retains IL-10 activity, where pegylation is selective for the N-terminus on one subunit of IL-10 with little or no formation of monomeric IL-10. The method also provides a substantially homogenous population of mono-PEG-IL-10.

This invention relates to compounds, compositions, and methods useful for modulating interleukin and / or interleukin receptor gene expression using short interfering nucleic acid (siNA) molecules. This invention also relates to compounds, compositions, and methods useful for modulating the expression and activity of other genes involved in pathways of interleukin and / or interleukin receptor gene expression and / or activity by RNA interference (RNAi) using small nucleic acid molecules. In particular, the instant invention features small nucleic acid molecules, such as short interfering nucleic acid (siNA), short interfering RNA (siRNA), double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), micro-RNA (mRNA), and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules and methods used to modulate the expression of interleukin and / or interleukin receptor genes such as IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-11, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, IL-19, IL-20, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-24, IL-25, IL-26, and IL-27 genes and IL-IR, IL-2R, IL-3R, IL-4R, IL-5R, IL-6R, IL-7R, IL-8R, IL-9R, IL-10R, IL-11R, IL-12R, IL-13R, IL-14R, IL-15R, IL-16R, IL-17R, IL-18R, IL-19R, IL-20R, IL-21R, IL-22R, IL-23R, IL-24R, IL-25R, IL-26R, and IL-27R genes.

The methods and compositions provided herein relate generally to IL-10 specific antibodies and uses thereof. More specifically, compositions of humanized IL-10 specific antibodies and methods to use such antibodies in modulating the biological activity of IL-10, particularly in autoimmune disorders and pathogen-mediated immunopathology.

Described herein is an analyte detection device and method related to a portable instrument suitable for point-of-care analyses. In some embodiments, a portable instrument may include a disposable cartridge, an optical detector, a sample collection device and / or sample reservoir, reagent delivery systems, fluid delivery systems, one or more channels, and / or waste reservoirs. Use of a portable instrument may reduce the hazard to an operator by reducing an operator's contact with a sample for analysis. The device is capable of obtaining diagnostic information using cellular- and / or particle-based analyses and may be used in conjunction with membrane- and / or particle-based analysis cartridges. Analytes, including proteins and cells and / or microbes may be detected using the membrane and / or particle based analysis system.