We have isolated, cloned, and characterized multiple T cell receptors (TCRs) from human donors specific for common mutations in KRAS and restricted to highly prevalent HLA types. These TCRs, protected by a Penn provisional filing, are suitable for T cell engineering for the adoptive immunotherapy of cancer patients of select HLA types and tumors expressing...

Dental implant that inhibits plaque accumulation and gingival tissue inflammation by photobiomodulation therapy delivered by embedded light-emitting diodes (LEDs) powered by electricity generated from the patient’s own oral motion. Problem: More than half of adults will lose one or more teeth in their lifetime. When a patient loses a tooth the...

Problem: Sepsis, an overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection, is the most common cause of death in US hospitals. Sepsis is associated with a mortality rate of 25–30% and mortality due to septic shock is 50–85%. Rapid diagnosis and intervention in sepsis are essential given an increased mortality rate of 8% for every hour...

rss.brief>A portable point-of-care device for rapid and sensitive detection of acute SARS-CoV-2 infections. Problem: The COVID-19 pandemic has infected over 40 million people worldwide as of mid-October 2020, causing more than 1 million deaths. Up to 50-80% of transmissions occur from asymptomatic patients. Current tests can have a turnaround time...

Technology Overview: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a major form of acute leukemia in elder adults. The treatment of AML has changed little in the past decades and the overall 5-year survival rate remains very poor in the AML patients. AML relapsed from chemotherapy is highly aggressive with poor prognosis. While adaptive cell therapy via chimeric...

Technology Overview: Screening platform for identification of potent and specific nanobodies for (i) directing CAR-T cells to cancer cells, (ii) drug conjugation, or (iii) tumor imaging or diagnosis. Identification of antibodies capable of mediating CAR-T killing is challenging due to several reasons. First, the antibody has to have certain affinity...

A library of ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) was screened for ability to deliver mRNA to T-cells, leading to an optimized LNP formulation for delivery of mRNA to T-cells. This thereby enhances the ability to generate transient chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T-cells for cancer immunotherapy. Problem: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)...

Interdependence of oncogenic and epigenetic mechanisms in T-cell lymphoma. Technology Overview: Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a highly malignant type of Non-Hodgkin’s T cell lymphoma in which chromosomal translocation leads to the expression of a fusion oncoprotein Tyrosine Kinase - Nucleophosmin/Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase or NPM/ALK. Dr....

Technology Overview: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) pose serious threats to patients’ well-being as malignant diseases, and most patients with metastatic NETs succumb to the disease. Using Sequential Tumor-related Antibody and antigen Retrieving (STAR) technology Dr. Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his...

The fully human CAR targets mesothelin, a surface protein overexpressed in several cancer types. P4, a human antibody fragment that binds human mesothelin with high specificity, is fused to T cell signaling domains such as 28z. The T cells engineered to express this CAR are shown to shrink tumors in a mouse model bearing human ovarian tumors overexpressing...