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Not AvailableCastor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is an annual chiefy non-edible oilseed crop of commercial and industrial importance cultivated worldwide. There are emerging genetic improvement objectives including the need for developing CMS system, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, ideal plant types for high-density planting and mechanical harvesting, and ricin-free castor bean seeds. Conventional breeding efforts and innovations including hybrid development using two-line system, selecting annual type from perennial nature, incorporating resistance against diseases, increasing harvest index, etc. have contributed immensely for increasing the productivity of the crop. However, in the absence of suitable genetic material with suitable traits, a few of the objectives such as resistance to gray mold disease, resistance to foliage feeders, ricin-free castor bean, etc. have not been achieved with the traditional approach. In this background, the success stories that have been witnessed in other crops as well as with the basic information that has been generated in castor bean suggest that biotechnological approaches employing genomics assisted breeding and genetic engineering strategies have immense potential in the genetic improvement of castor bean. With this understanding, to create an updated information, the available literature on various aspects of biotechnological research such as genetic and genomic resources, genetic engineering tools, and techniques developed in castor bean has been reviewed, and appropriate strategies along with the future scope are presented that could be adopted for genetic enhancement of castor bean both for input and output traits.Not Availabl

Tumor-targeted 4-1BB agonists for combination with T cell bispecific antibodies as off-the-shelf therapy

Endogenous costimulatory molecules on T cells such as 4-1BB (CD137) can be leveraged for cancer immunotherapy. Systemic administration of agonistic anti-4-1BB antibodies, although effective preclinically, has not advanced to phase 3 trials because they have been hampered by both dependency on Fc gamma receptor-mediated hyperclustering and hepatotoxicity. To overcome these issues, we engineered proteins simultaneously targeting 4-1BB and a tumor stroma or tumor antigen: FAP-4-1BBL (RG7826) and CD19-4-1BBL. In the presence of a T cell receptor signal, they provide potent T cell costimulation strictly dependent on tumor antigen-mediated hyperclustering without systemic activation by Fc gamma R binding. We could show targeting of FAP-4-1BBL to FAP-expressing tumor stroma and lymph nodes in a colorectal cancer-bearing rhesus monkey. Combination of FAP-4-1BBL with tumor antigen-targeted T cell bispecific (TCB) molecules in human tumor samples led to increased IFN-gamma and granzyme B secretion. Further, combination of FAP- or CD19-4-1BBL with CEA-TCB (RG7802) or CD20-TCB (RG6026), respectively, resulted in tumor remission in mouse models, accompanied by intratumoral accumulation of activated effector CD8(+) T cells. FAP- and CD19-4-1BBL thus represent an off-the-shelf combination immunotherapy without requiring genetic modification of effector cells for the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies

Abstracts of National Conference on Biological, Biochemical, Biomedical, Bioenergy, and Environmental Biotechnology

This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at the National Conference on Biological, Biochemical, Biomedical, Bioenergy, and Environmental Biotechnology (NCB4EBT-2021) Organized by the Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Warangal, India held on 29–30 January 2021. This conference is the first of its kind organized by NIT-W which covered an array of interesting topics in biotechnology. This makes it a bit special as it brings together researchers from different disciplines of biotechnology, which in turn will also open new research and cooperation fields for them. Conference Title: National Conference on Biological, Biochemical, Biomedical, Bioenergy, and Environmental BiotechnologyConference Acronym: NCB4EBT-2021Conference Date: 29–30 January 2021Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Indi