Antibacterial agents and methods of identifying and utilizing same

• US 7,625,707 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2004
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ramot at Tel Aviv University Limited (Tel Aviv University)
• Original Assignee: Ramot at Tel Aviv University Limited (Tel Aviv University)
• Inventors: Cherny, Izhack, Gazit, Ehud
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeman; Robert A
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARCHIE, NINA
• Application Number:
  US10/574,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20070298043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 435/7.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 31/04 Antibacterial agents
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/18 Testing for antimicrobial activity of a material
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 30/04 by measuring the ability to specifically bind a target molecule, e.g. antibody-antigen binding, receptor-ligand binding
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2333/195 from bacteria
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2500/02 Screening involving studying the effect of compounds C on the interaction between interacting molecules A and B (e.g. A = enzyme and B = substrate for A, or A = receptor and B = ligand for the receptor)
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/56911 Bacteria

Abstract

A method of identifying a molecule capable of inducing death of a bacterial cell which includes exposing toxin and antitoxin polypeptides of a toxin-antitoxin pair produced by the bacterial cell to a plurality of molecules, and identifying a molecule of the plurality of molecules capable of preventing or disrupting binding between the antitoxin and said toxin polypeptides, thereby identifying the molecule capable of inducing death of the bacterial cell.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a molecule capable of preventing or disrupting binding between a toxin:

antitoxin pair produced by a bacterial cell, the method comprising;

(a) exposing toxin and antitoxin polypeptides of a toxin-antitoxin pair produced by the bacterial cell to a plurality of molecules, wherein said toxin polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 77 and said antitoxin polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 76; and

(b) determining if the molecule prevents or disrupts binding between said antitoxin and said toxin polypeptides, thereby identifying a molecule capable of preventing or disrupting binding between a toxin;

antitoxin pair produced by a bacterial cell.