An Uncharacterized Gene

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An Uncharacterized Gene Enables Effective Combination Therapy Background: S. pneumoniae is a human nasopharyngeal commensal and respiratory pathogen. It triggers pneumococcal pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia, which results in ~1 million deaths annually among children <5 years of age, and ~0.5 million among other groups predominantly the immunocompromised and the elderly (>65 yrs.), making it one of the most important bacterial pathogens worldwide. Although vaccination has been successful, it does not result in complete protection. Antibiotics continue to be important as a treatment option, especially in acute disease. However, the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains has become a global problem and with 1.2 million drug-resistant pneumococcal infections annually in the US, and $96 million in excess medical costs, S. pneumoniae is a serious concern. Invention: S. pneumoniae is used to explore the importance of the genomic background on antibiotic-sensitivity and the manner in which stress is experienced and processed. In a screen in S. pneumoniae, with high sensitivity, a set of two uncharacterized genes (SP1505 and SP1504) is identified, that when inactivated make the bacterium highly susceptible to antibiotics including daptomycin and vancomycin. Features/Advantages:  Novel conditionally important/essential genes identified  Genes become important under specific conditions (e.g. an antibiotic)  Enables combination therapy Applications:  Weakest links in the genome (genes) are identified: can be used as targets in combination therapy  An antibiotic may be used to create the specific condition that uncovers the weakest links and with a second approach (vaccine, antibiotic, compound, antibody) the weakest link is attacked  Antibody is more potent and may work at lower concentrations Lead Inventor: Tim van Opijnen, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Boston College Publication: van Opijnen, Tim, Sandra Dedrick, and José Bento. "Strain Dependent Genetic Networks for AntibioticSensitivity in a Bacterial Pathogen with a Large Pan-Genome." PLoS Pathog 12.9 (2016): e1005869. Patent Information: U.S. Patent Application has been filed Licensing Status: Available for exclusive or non-exclusive license Looking for Partners: For sponsored collaboration research to develop and commercialize this invention