Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to an engineered protein (e.g., a chimeric protein) comprising one or more of an extracellular domain, a transmembrane domain and/or an intracellular domain, which are capable of binding a negative signal and functioning as a sink, dominant negative, or signal inverter for the negative signal. The disclosure is further directed to methods of generating a modified cell expressing one or more of the engineered proteins (e.g., chimeric proteins), and methods of using the modified cells in treating a disease or a condition in a subject in need thereof.