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 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