SLAM Polypeptides for Bacterial Protein Export
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments and vaccines for infections caused by pathogenic Neisseria species are limited by antibiotic resistance and variable vaccine efficacy, necessitating the development of additional prevention and treatment options.
Innovation Solution
The use of surface lipoprotein assembly modulator (SLAM) polypeptides, which can be produced in host cells, to facilitate the transport of target proteins from the cytosol to the extracellular surface, potentially enhancing immune responses and providing new vaccine candidates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If antibiotics are used to treat Neisseria infections, then treatment options are available, but antibiotic resistance develops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of antibiotic resistance into a beneficial alternative by developing vaccine approaches that exploit the bacterial cell surface structures. Instead of using antibiotics that face resistance, the invention uses the bacteria's own surface lipoproteins and assembly mechanisms to create immunogenic compositions that prevent infection without selecting for resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces SLAM polypeptides as intermediary molecules that facilitate the presentation of immunogenic compositions. These SLAM polypeptides act as mediators between the bacterial surface structures and the host immune system, enabling effective immune responses without direct use of antibiotics.
2Reliability
If vaccines are developed against Neisseria infections, then prevention options are provided, but vaccine efficacy varies by serogroup
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves universality by targeting conserved bacterial cell surface structures and assembly mechanisms that are common across different Neisseria serogroups. The SLAM polypeptides and immunogenic compositions are designed to recognize and interact with universal features of bacterial surface assembly, enabling broad-spectrum protection against multiple serogroups with a single vaccine platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by modifying the immunogenic compositions to include various SLAM polypeptide variants and combinations. By adjusting the molecular weight, amino acid sequences, and structural characteristics of the SLAM polypeptides, the vaccine can be optimized to target different serogroups while maintaining a unified approach to vaccine design.
3Ease of operation
If SLAM polypeptides are produced in host cells, then protein transport from cytosol to extracellular surface is facilitated, but production and expression systems must be established
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by utilizing the host cell's own protein transport and secretion machinery to deliver SLAM polypeptides to the extracellular surface. The SLAM polypeptides are designed with appropriate signal sequences and structural features that enable them to harness the cell's endogenous transport pathways, eliminating the need for complex external delivery systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Novel methods for exporting target proteins from the cytosol to the extracellular surface of bacterial cells are provided. The methods are useful in that they permit the preparation of vaccines for the prevention of bacterial infectious diseases.