Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Antigen – epitope – or other immunospecific immunoeffector – Bacterium or component thereof or substance produced by said...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-27
2004-02-10
Graser, Jennifer E. (Department: 1645)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Antigen, epitope, or other immunospecific immunoeffector
Bacterium or component thereof or substance produced by said...
C424S184100, C424S185100, C424S190100, C530S350000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689369
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of bacterial surface proteins and their use as components in vaccines and vaccine compositions for protection against bacterial infections.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Streptococcus pneumoniae
(
S. pneumoniae
; pneumococcus) is a gram positive bacterium that is also a major causative agent of invasive infections in animals and humans, including such diseases as sepsis, menningitis, otitis media, and lobar pneumonia. (Tuomanen et al,
New Engl. J. Med
., 322:1280-1284 (1995)) As part of the infective process, pneumococci readily bind to non-inflamed human epithelial cells of the upper and lower respiratory tract by binding to eukaryotic carbohydrates in a lectin-like manner (Cundell et al,
Micro. Path
., 17:361-374 (1994)). Conversion to invasive pneumococcal infections for bound bacteria may involve the local generation of inflammatory factors that may activate the epithelial cells to change the number and type of receptors on their surfaces. (Cundell et al,
Nature
, 377:435-438 (1995)) It has been suggested that one such receptor, platelet activating factor (PAF), is engaged by the pneumococcal bacteria and, within a short period of time, perhaps as short as minutes later, following appearance of PAF, the pneumococcal organisms exhibit strongly enhanced adherence to, and invasion of, tissue. Certain soluble receptor analogs have been shown to prevent the progression of pneumococcal infections (Idanpaan-Heikkila et al,
J. Inf. Dis
., 176:704-712 (1997)). Other proteins have been suggested as being involved in the pathogenicity of
S. pneumoniae
, but the majority of the gene products have not been characterized.
Thus, although it would be highly advantageous to have characterized samples of polypeptides having epitopes in common from various strains of
S. pneumoniae
for use as vaccines and as components in vaccine compositions to provide protection against a wide variety of
S. pneumoniae
serotypes, the lack of purified and/or characterized polypeptides from such sources has represented a severe drawback to such testing and evaluation. The present invention solves this problem by providing a recombinant polypeptide derived from pneumococcus with demonstrated protective ability.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide isolated and/or purified polypeptide material for use in forming therapeutically effective vaccines and vaccine compositions as well as polynucleotides encoding them.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide vaccines and vaccine compositions with therapeutic activity in the prevention and/or treatment of bacterially caused diseases, especially those caused by one or more strains of
S. pneumoniae.
It is another object of the present invention to provide antibodies, either polyclonal or monoclonal, specific for the polypeptides of the present invention which can serve in both diagnostic and therapeutic uses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide processes for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by pneumococcal organisms wherein said prevention and/or treatment relies on the use of vaccines, or vaccine compositions, comprising polypeptides as disclosed herein. Such prevention and/or treatment may also rely on compositions comprising antibodies specific for the polypeptides of the present invention.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide processes for the recombinant production of novel pneumococcal polypeptides, for the production of vaccines incorporating such polypeptides, including prophylactically and therapeutically active fragments thereof, as well as the production of antibodies specific for epitopes found on such polypeptides. Such processes may include the production of recombinant vectors and cells comprising polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides disclosed herein.
REFERENCES:
patent: WO9806734 (1998-02-01), None
patent: WO 98/18931 (1998-05-01), None
Adamou John E.
Johnson Leslie S.
Koenig Scott
Grant Alan J.
Graser Jennifer E.
MedImmune, Inc.
Olstein Elliot M.
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