University of Rochester

Other

Sloan-kettering Institute for Cancer Research

Joseph D Rosenblatt

Howard J Federoff

Stephen Dewhurst

William J Bowers

Yuman Fong

John G Frelinger

Xinqiang Li

Richard A Willis

Thomas G Evans

Khaled A Tolba

Thomas J Evans

Peter K Hocknell

The invention features new helper virus-free methods for making herpesvirus amplicon particles that can be used in immunotherapies, including those for treating any number of infectious diseases and cancers (including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, other cancers in which blood cells become malignant, lymphomas (e.g. Hodgkin's lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's type lymphomas). Described herein are methods of making helper virus-free HSV amplicon particles; cells that contain those particles (e.g., packaging cell lines or patients' cells, infected in vivo or ex vivo); particles produced according to those methods; and methods of treating a patient with an hf-HSV particle made according to those methods.

Helper virus-free herpesvirus amplicon particles and uses thereof

Modified tRNA molecules are provided which inhibit HIV-1 replication. A tRNA molecule has a modified aminoacyl acceptor stem with a 3&prime; segment which has reduced complementarity to the HIV primer binding site can initiate aberrant reverse transcription and/or interfere with reverse transcription. tRNA molecules which are modified in regions outside the acceptor stem which interact with reverse trancriptase or the HIV-1 RNA template can also inhibit HIV-1 replication. Methods are disclosed for introducing the modified tRNA molecules into human cells.

Inhibition of HIV replication using a mutated transfer RNA primer

An autologous vaccine to tumor cells is produced by transducing the tumor cells with a herpes simplex virus amplicon containing the gene for an immunomodulatory protein to provide transient expression of the immunomodulatory protein by the cells. The tumor cells may transduced with the herpes simplex amplicons ex vivo or in vivo. Suitable immunomodulatory proteins include cytokines, for example, interleukins, interferons, and chemokines such as RANTES; intercellular adhesion molecules, for example ICAM-1 and costimulatory factors such as B7.1. The tumor cells may also be transduced with one or more species of amplicon containing genes for two or more different immunomodulatory proteins.

Rapid production of autologous tumor vaccines

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Joseph D Rosenblatt