University System of Maryland

Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

Other

Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute Berne

Myron M Levine

James B Kaper

Eileen M Barry

Fernando R Noriega

Alessio Fasano

James Eugene Galen

James P Nataro

Raphael Simon

Scott E Castanon

Sharon Tennant

Michael D Fiechtner

Christofer Vindurampulle

Zeev Altboum

Francis R Go

Marcelo B Sztein

Sharon M Tennants

Bernadette Baudry

Seroprotection analysis systems, kits, and techniques are described for testing oral fluid for the presence of protective levels of antibodies of interest. In one aspect, the presence of protective levels of target antibodies indicates a test subject has achieved a target seroprotection level, such as but not limited to a target seroprotection level following vaccination. A collection kit can include a swab that enables collection of oral fluid containing antibodies from both dentulous and edentulous individuals, a container that can be pre-filled with an extraction solution, and a nozzle that can be coupled to the container to form a fluid-tight device. A user can use the nozzle to seal the swab in the container and to compress the swab within the container. After or during compression, the solution can be dispensed from the fluid-tight device, such as by inverting the fluid-tight device to flush the swab with the buffer solution and to transfer the fluid to a detection device through a channel in the nozzle. The detection system can be an assay reader device.

Devices and techniques for oral fluid collection and seroprotection testing

The invention relates to a multivalent/Enterotoxigenicvaccine for use in prophylaxis and treatment of diarrheal disease. The-ETEC vaccine provides increased coverage of a broader range of ETEC andisolates than prior vaccines, and includes CS14 antigens and serotypes (7a, or1b).

Enhanced-enterotoxigenicmulti-valent vaccine

Longer chain antigenic O-polysaccharide chains for use as a hapten in conjugate vaccines can be produced in a controlled manner using recombinant Gram-negative bacteria that overexpress native or heterologous genes of the wzz family, for example wzzB. Bacteria expressing a chosen wzz gene have modified O-polysaccharide chain lengths, allowing the bacteria to produce lipopolysaccharides having the longer O-polysaccharides. The LPS produced by the bacteria can be hydrolyzed to form core-O-polysaccharide molecules that can be conjugated to a carrier molecule, for example flagellin, to produce a vaccine. The invention also provides recombinant bacteria producing the longer chain O-polysaccharides, the polysaccharide molecules, themselves, conjugated vaccines comprising the O-polysaccharides, pharmaceutical compositions and kits.

Compositions and methods for producing bacterial conjugate vaccines

The present invention is drawn to attenuatedserovar strainsand, conjugate vaccines derived from these attenuated strains ofand, comprising an O polysaccharide covalently linked to a flagellin protein, and methods for inducing an immune response in a subject comprising administering the attenuated strains and/or the conjugate vaccines of the invention.

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The present invention is drawn to multivalentserovar conjugate vaccines comprising conjugates ofA and optionallyB, wherein the conjugates comprise a hapten antigen and a carrier antigen, wherein at least one of the hapten antigens or carrier antigens is characteristic of theserovar. The present invention also providesserovar reagent strains to produce the multivalent conjugate vaccines and attenuatedserovars for use as vaccines.

The present invention is drawn to a live, attenuatedA strain, a live, attenuatedA strain comprising a stabilized plasmid expression system, and methods of using these strains.

The present invention is drawn to a live, attenuatedA strain, a live, attenuatedA strain comprising a stabilized plasmid expression system, anconjugate vaccine, and methods of using these strains and conjugate vaccine.

Compositions comprising products of the csa operon, an isolated nucleic acid encoding the csa operon or functional fragments thereof, purified polypeptide products of the csa operon or functional fragments thereof, methods of eliciting an immune response to these products, and methods of producing products of the csa operon are disclosed herein.

Isolation and characterization of the csa operon (ETEC-CS4 pili) and methods of using same

Attenuated Salmonella mutants which constitutively express the Vi antigen are disclosed, as well as vaccines against typhoid fever containing the same, live vector vaccines containing the same, and DNA-mediated vaccines containing the same.

Attenuated mutants of salmonella which constitutively express the Vi antigen

Vibrio cholerae 01 (CVD111) and non-01 (CVD112 and CVD112RM) serogroup

gua mutants of Shigella spp., and vaccines containing the same are disclosed.

Gua mutants of shigella spp. and vaccines containing the same

Substantially pure enterotoxins of Shigella flexneri 2a are described, along with a method for obtaining the same, antibodies having binding specificity to the enterotoxins and a method for use of the enterotoxins to develop a non-reactogenic Shigella flexneri 2a vaccine candidate.

Antibodies having binding specificity to ShET2, an enterotoxin of

Method of isolating deletion mutants of Vibrio cholerae, wherein the deletion is predetermined by digestion with restriction endonucleases of known specificity. The deletions are inserted into the Vibrio cholerae chromosome by in vivo recombination between a plasmid carrying the desired deletion, with adjacent flanking sequences, and the Vibrio cholerae chromosome. The invention includes the isolation and characterization of a new Vibrio cholerae strain, CVD103Hg (ATTC No. 55,456), having a deletion in the tox gene, as defined by Acc I, Xba I, Cla I and/or restriction endonuclease sites, and carrying a mercury resistance gene. The invention also includes vaccines for protecting against the symptoms of cholera as well as methods for achieving this protection.

Growing community of inventors

Columbia, MD, United States of America

Myron M Levine