Claims for Patent: 7,955,596

Summary for Patent: 7,955,596

Title:	B. anthracis prevention and treatment: mutant B. anthracis lacking luxs activity and furanone inhibition of growth, AI-2 quorum sensing, and toxin production
Abstract:	The present invention pertains to the discovery that B. anthracis possesses a luxS gene that encodes a functional LuxS polypeptide, and that B. anthracis synthesizes a functional AI-2 quorum-sensing molecule. The invention provides mutant B. anthracis bacteria lacking the function of the luxS gene, which do not produce a functional AI-2 molecule and have growth defects compared to wild-type B. anthracis. The invention also concerns methods for inhibiting the growth of B. anthracis, or for preventing or treating B. anthracis infection, by inhibiting the activity of the B. anthracis LuxS polypeptide, or by exposure of the B. anthracis to furanone. In particular, the invention concerns the use of furanone, a compound that inhibits AI-2-mediated quorum-sensing, to inhibit the growth of B. anthracis, to inhibit B. anthracis toxin production, particularly that of protective antigen, and to prevent or treat B. anthracis infection. The invention also provides methods to prevent B. anthracis infection, or enhance an immune response to B. anthracis infection, by administering a vaccine comprising a B. anthracis cell in which the luxS gene is mutated.
Inventor(s):	Jones; Marcus B. (Rockville, MD), Blaser; Martin J. (New York, NY), Wood; Thomas (Tolland, CT), Ren; Dacheng (Ithaca, NY)
Assignee:	New York University (New York, NY) University of Connecticut (Farmington, CT)
Application Number:	12/044,135
Patent Claims:	1. An isolated Bacillus anthracis cell in which the luxS gene of said B. anthracis cell is mutated by removal of the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 from the genome of said B. anthracis cell. 2. The B. anthracis cell of claim 1, wherein the removed nucleotide sequence is replaced by a nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance. 3. The B. anthracis cell of claim 2, wherein the nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance is a B. subtilis aphA gene. 4. A formulation comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and an isolated Bacillus anthracis cell in which the luxS gene of said B. anthracis cell is mutated by removal of the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 from the genome of said B. anthracis cell, wherein the mutated B. anthracis cell does not produce a functional LuxS polypeptide and shows reduced growth when grown in a cell-free culture medium compared to the growth of its wild-type cell. 5. The formulation of claim 4, wherein the removed nucleotide sequence is replaced by a nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance. 6. The formulation of claim 5, wherein the nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance is a B. subtilis aphA gene. 7. The formulation of claim 4 comprising an adjuvant. 8. The formulation of claim 7, wherein the adjuvant is aluminum hydroxide. 9. A method of inhibiting the growth of a Bacillus anthracis cell in a cell-free culture medium comprising inhibiting the functional activity of LuxS polypeptide of said B. anthracis cell by mutating the luxS gene of said B. anthracis cell by removal of the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 from the genome of said B. anthracis cell. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the removed nucleotide sequence is replaced by a nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the nucleotide sequence conferring antibiotic resistance is a B. subtilis aphA gene.

Details for Patent 7,955,596

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Emergent Biodefense Operations Lansing Llc	BIOTHRAX	anthrax vaccine adsorbed	Injection	103821	11/12/1998		2023-04-11