<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>NIH OTT RSS Feed - Infectious Diseases - Vaccines</title><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/rss/default.aspx</link><description>Office of Technology Transfer (OTT).</description><copyright>Copyright 2009 NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). All rights reserved.</copyright><item><title>Live Attenuated RSV Vaccines Based on Codon-Pair Deoptimization</title><description><![CDATA[The technology includes patent rights and related materials for live attenuated viruses that can be used as a prophylactic vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus. The viruses are generated using codon-pair deoptimization techniques, resulting in attenuation based on hundreds or thousands of nucleotide substitutions with no differences at the amino acid level. Various permutations are based on deoptimization of the RSV polymerase ORF, the F and G glycoprotein ORFs, the  NS1, NS2, N, P, M, and SH ORFs, or all of these in combination. Experimental growth data for representative viruses in mice and in African Green Monkeys demonstrated in vivo growth attenuation.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2570</link><pubDate>2013-06-06</pubDate></item><item><title>Novel Fusion Proteins for HIV Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[The subject invention describes novel fusion proteins (CD4i antibody-HIV-1 envelop glycoprotein (gp120)) which can be used as 1) potential vaccine immunogens that could be more efficient than gp120 alone; 2) candidate therapeutics; and 3) research reagents for exploration of HIV-1 gp120 conformational flexibility, elucidation of mechanisms of virus entry, and evasion of immune responses.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2567</link><pubDate>2013-05-30</pubDate></item><item><title>A Novel HIV-1 Entry Inhibitor</title><description><![CDATA[The subject invention describes a novel polypeptide comprising a single human CD4 domain (mD1.22) which is highly soluble and stable with significantly higher neutralizing activity and lower non-specific binding to human blood cell lines.  More specifically, mD1.22 is highly promising for several applications due to its biophysical properties:  1) for conjugating with cytotoxic molecules for eradication of HIV-infected cells; 2) for generating multi-specific multi-valent HIV inhibitors with high neutralization potency and breadth, and relatively small molecular size; 3) for generating nanobio-sensors for rapid HIV detection; and 4) for studying the biological functions of CD4 in immune responses and HIV entry.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2566</link><pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate></item><item><title>Parvovirus B19 Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[Parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection causes fifth disease, a disease characterized by rashes to the face and other parts of the body that primarily affects children.  However, adults can also develop fifth disease and it can lead to more severe conditions.  Patients that are immunocompromised, such as those who are HIV infected, organ transplant recipients, and cancer patients, can be particularly susceptible to more severe outcomes from B19V infection.  Infection can also cause anemia and in pregnant women, it can lead to hydrops fetalis.

The subject technologies are expression vectors for the production of B19V VP1 and VP2 capsid proteins.  Co-expression of the two proteins produce empty virus-like particles (VLPs) that can be used to develop a vaccine against parvovirus B19 and a packaging system for infectious B19V virus.  Different expression vectors have been developed and optimized for expression in insects cells and more recently in mammalian cell lines such as 293, Cos7, Hela cells and 293T cells.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2560</link><pubDate>2013-05-07</pubDate></item><item><title>Antimalarial Inhibitors that Target the Plasmodial Surface Anion Channel (PSAC) Protein and Development of the PSAC Protein as Vaccine Targets</title><description><![CDATA[There are two related technologies, the first being small molecule inhibitors of the malarial plasmodial surface anion channel (PSAC) and the second being the PSAC protein itself as a vaccine candidate.  The PSAC protein is produced by the malaria parasite within host erythrocytes and is crucial for mediating nutrient uptake.  In vitro data show that the PSAC inhibitors are able to inhibit growth of malaria parasites, have high specificity, and low toxicity.  Portions of the PSAC protein are found on the outer surface of infected host erythrocytes and the protein was recently shown to be encoded by the clag3 gene.  This discovery opens the possibility of developing the PSAC protein as a potential vaccine candidate against malaria.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2488</link><pubDate>2013-04-23</pubDate></item><item><title>HIV-Neutralizing Polypeptides: A Novel Use for Platelet Factor 4 or Its Derivatives</title><description><![CDATA[The subject invention describes the method for using Platelet Factor 4 (PF4), also called CXCL4, to inhibit HIV viral entry by blocking GP120 independent of HIV receptor. It also demonstrates that the active polypeptide fragment(s) of PF-4 could be used to identify potential peptide mimics or small molecules that could be used to inhibit HIV infection. PF4 and/or its derivatives may be developed as a systemic therapy or preventive measure using topical applications, such as microbicides. In addition, CXCL4 serum/plasma testing could be used as a clinical marker of HIV disease status to predict/monitor the efficacy of treatment and determine the prognosis of a subject with HIV infection.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2547</link><pubDate>2013-04-04</pubDate></item><item><title>Infectious Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3 Recombinants ? Prospective Vaccine Candidates and Vector System</title><description><![CDATA[This technology is a recombinant, infectious genotype 3 Hepatitis E virus (HEV) that has been adapted to grow in cell culture and can potentially be used to develop vaccines against HEV or as a vector system to insert exogenous sequences into HEV.  The virus (strain Kernow-C1, genotype 3) originated from a chronically infected human subject and was adapted to grow in human hepatoma cells.  The adapted virus is unique in that it contains an insertion of a portion of a human ribosomal protein in Open Reading Frame 1 of the virus.  Desired exogenous sequences can potentially be placed in lieu of the insert without inactivating the virus.

Infection by HEV is a relevant health issue in a number of developing countries and is also an emerging food-borne disease of industrialized countries.  Genotype 1 and 2 infections are found exclusively in humans while genotype 3 and 4 viruses have been found not only in humans, but also swine, deer, mongoose, cattle, and rabbits.  In particular, genotype 3 and 4 viruses are ubiquitously found in swine and undercooked pork is thought to be one of the sources of infection for cases of human infections in industrialized countries.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2329</link><pubDate>2013-03-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Human Antibodies and Fusion Proteins with Potent and Broad HIV-1 Neutralizing Activity</title><description><![CDATA[The inventions listed below provide multiple novel human anti-HIV-1 domain antibodies (m36 and its affinity- matured versions) and their fusion proteins with two-domain or single-domain human soluble CD4 (sCD4) that can potentially be used alone or synergistically with other anti-HIV-1 antibodies and antiretroviral drugs as therapeutics and/or preventatives for infection by different HIV-1 strains.

Some of the inventions listed below also describe some fusion proteins as vaccine immunogens that could elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-isolates from different clades. One invention also describes the methods to prepare and use the immunogens in the vaccination for prevention of HIV-1 infections. More specifically, the later invention provides a vaccine composed of a primary immunogen and a secondary immunogen, and a method for making the vaccine which could be effective in eliciting desired broadly neutralizing antibodies. The primary immunogen could be effective in activating B cell receptors (BCRs) that are on the maturational pathways of the desired antibodies and have an intermediate degree of somatic mutational diversity. The secondary immunogen contains epitopes of the desired antibodies and could be effective in further diversifying the BCRs sufficiently to form mature BCRs that have the identical or substantially identical sequence as the desired antibodies.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2482</link><pubDate>2013-03-18</pubDate></item><item><title>Oral Shigellosis Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[This application claims a Salmonella typhi Ty21a construct comprising a Shigella sonnei O-antigen biosynthetic gene region inserted into the Salmonella typhi Ty21a chromosome, where heterologous Shigella sonnei form 1 O-antigen is stably expressed together with homologous Salmonella typhi O-antigen.  The constructs of this invention elicit immune protection against virulent Shigella sonnei challenge, as well as Salmonella Typhi challenge.  Also claimed in this application are methods of recombineering a large antigenic gene region into a bacterial chromosome.

Bacillary dysentery and enteric fevers continue to be important causes of morbidity in both developed and developing nations.  Shigella cause greater than one hundred and fifty million cases of dysentery and enteric fever occurs in greater than twenty-seven million people annually.  Currently, there is no licensed vaccine to prevent the occurrence of shigellosis.  Increasing multiple resistance in Shigella commonly thwarts local therapies.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2528</link><pubDate>2013-02-26</pubDate></item><item><title>Novel Vaccine for Prevention and Treatment of Chlamydia Infection</title><description><![CDATA[The invention provides novel vectors, attenuated pathogens, compositions, methods and kits for preventing and/or treating chlamydia infections.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular human pathogen with a unique biphasic developmental growth cycle. It's the etiological agent of trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness and the most common cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease. C. trachomatis isolates maintain a highly conserved plasmid and naturally occurring plasmidless clinical isolates are rare, implicating its importance in chlamydial pathogenesis. Understanding the plasmid's role in chlamydial pathogenesis at a molecular level is an important objective for the future control of chlamydial infections. The NIAID inventor had studied chlamydia strains in both non-human primate and murine infectious models providing evidence that plasmids play an important role in chlamydial pathogenesis. In addition, the study results of macaque model of trachoma supports the use of plasmid-deficient organisms as novel live-attenuated chlamydial vaccines.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2536</link><pubDate>2013-02-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Live Oral Shigella dysenteriae Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[This application claims a Salmonella typhi Ty21a construct comprising a Shigella dysenteriae O-specific polysaccharide (O-Ps) inserted into the Salmonella typhi Ty21a chromosome, where heterologous Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 O-antigen is stably expressed together with homologous Salmonella typhi O-antigen.  The constructs of this invention elicit immune protection against virulent Shigella dysenteriae challenge, as well as Salmonella typhi challenge.  Also claimed in this application are methods of making the constructs of this invention and methods for inducing an immune response.

Shigella cause millions of cases of dysentery every year, which result in about seven hundred thousand deaths worldwide.  Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1, one of about forty serotypes of Shigella, causes a more severe disease with a much higher mortality rate than other serotypes.  There are no licensed vaccines available for protection against Shigella.  The fact that many isolates exhibit multiple antibiotic resistance complicates the management of dysentery infections.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2527</link><pubDate>2013-02-16</pubDate></item><item><title>Improved Bacterial Host for Production of Anthrax Toxin Proteins and Vaccines: Bacillus anthracis BH450</title><description><![CDATA[Anthrax toxin has previously been made from various avirulent strains of Bacillus anthracis.  The inventors have genetically engineered a new strain of B. anthracis with improved properties.  The strain, designated BH450, is totally deficient in the ability to make spores and to produce a major extracellular protease designated Peptidase M4.  The genetic lesions introduced are defined, true deletions, so there is no possibility of reversion.  Inability to make spores assures that laboratories growing the strain will not become contaminated with the very stable anthrax spores.  Inability to make peptidase M4 increases the stability of proteins such as anthrax toxin that are secreted to the culture medium.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1599</link><pubDate>2013-02-15</pubDate></item><item><title>Full-Length cDNA Clone Representing the Consensus Sequence of the RNA Genome of a Human Norovirus (strain MD145-12) That Encodes Biologically Active Proteins</title><description><![CDATA[The invention provides for a full-length cloned cDNA copy of the RNA genome of a predominant norovirus strain (Genogroup II.4) designated MD145-12 that was associated with human gastrointestinal illness.  The noroviruses, which were formerly known as "Norwalk-like" viruses are estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the USA each year.  The virus has been designated into category B of the CDC biodefense-related priority pathogens because it can be used as an agent of bioterrorism.  The subject cDNA clone of the virus encodes proteins of the MD145-12 strain that, when expressed in vitro, exhibit properties that would be expected from those produced by the original infectious virus.  This cDNA clone is presently the only source to obtain norovirus proteins to facilitate studies aimed at developing control strategies such as vaccines and therapeutic drugs.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=903</link><pubDate>2013-02-14</pubDate></item><item><title>Enzymatically-Active RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase From a Human Norovirus (Calicivirus)</title><description><![CDATA[The noroviruses (formerly known as ?Norwalk-like viruses?) are associated with gastroenteritis outbreaks, affecting large numbers of individuals each year.  Emerging data are supporting their increasing recognition as important agents of diarrhea-related morbidity and mortality.  The frequency with which noroviruses are associated with gastroenteritis as ?food and water-borne pathogens? has led to the inclusion of caliciviruses as Category B Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases.  Because the noroviruses cannot be propagated by any means in the laboratory, an important strategy in their study is to development of molecular biology-based tools and replication systems.  This invention reports the isolation of the first recombinant, enzymatically-active proteinase and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) complex for a human norovirus.  This enzyme should facilitate studies aimed at developing therapeutic drugs for norovirus disease.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=908</link><pubDate>2013-02-14</pubDate></item><item><title>Construction of an Infectious Full-Length cDNA Clone of the Porcine Enteric Calicivirus RNA Genome</title><description><![CDATA[Porcine enteric calicivirus (PEC) is a member of the genus Sapovirus in the family Caliciviridae.  This virus causes diarrheal illness in pigs, and is presently the only enteric calicivirus that can be grown in cell culture.  In addition to its relevance to veterinary medicine as a diarrheal agent in pigs, PEC serves as an important model for the study of enteric caliciviruses that cause diarrhea and that cannot be grown in cell culture (including the noroviruses represented by Norwalk virus).  The development of an infectious cDNA clone is important because it enables the use of ?reverse genetics? to engineer mutations of interest into the genome of PEC and to study their effects.  In addition, it allows the introduction of foreign coding sequences into the genome of PEC that could be useful for vaccine development in swine and possibly humans.  This discovery has both basic research applications such as mapping mutations involved in tissue culture adaptation, tissue tropism, and virulence as well as practical applications such as providing a genetic backbone for the development of chimeric vaccine viruses.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=909</link><pubDate>2013-02-14</pubDate></item><item><title>Construction of Recombinant Baculoviruses Carrying the Gene Encoding the Major Capsid Protein, VP1, From Calicivirus Strains (Including Norovirus Strains Toronto, Hawaii, Desert Shield, Snow Mountain, and MD145-12)</title><description><![CDATA[The noroviruses (known as "Norwalk-like viruses") are associated with an estimated 23,000,000 cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States each year.  Norovirus illness often occurs in outbreaks, affecting large numbers of individuals, illustrated recently by well-publicized reports of gastroenteritis outbreaks on several recreational cruise ships and in settings such as hospitals and schools.  Norovirus disease is clearly important in terms of medical costs and missed workdays, and accumulating data support its emerging recognition as important agents of diarrhea-related morbidity.

Because the noroviruses cannot be propagated by any means in the laboratory, an important strategy in their study is the development of molecular biology-based tools.  This invention reports the development of recombinant baculoviruses carrying the capsid gene from several caliciviruses associated with human disease.  Growth of these baculovirus recombinants in insect cells results in the expression of virus-like particles (VLPs) that are antigenically indistinguishable from the native calicivirus particle.  These VLPs can be purified in large quantities for use as diagnostic reagents and potential vaccine candidates.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=910</link><pubDate>2013-02-14</pubDate></item><item><title>Live Attenuated Rubella Vector to Express Vaccine Antigens</title><description><![CDATA[Live attenuated viruses make potent and effective vaccines. Despite the urgent need for an HIV vaccine, this approach has not been feasible because it has not been possible to attenuate the virus reliably and guarantee vaccine safety. Instead, live viral vectors have been proposed that could present HIV vaccine antigens in the most immunogenic way, in the context of an active infection.

The inventors have adapted a rubella vaccine strain as a vector to express HIV and SIV antigen and tested the effect of insert size and composition on vector stability and viral titer. The inventors have identified an acceptor site in the rubella nonstructural gene region, where foreign genes can be expressed as a fusion protein with the nonstructural protein P150 without affecting essential viral functions. The inserts were expressed as early genes of rubella, under control of the rubella genomic promoter. At this site, HIV and SIV antigens were expressed stably for at least seven passages, as the rubella vectors reached high titers. Rubella readily infects rhesus macaques, and these animals will provide an ideal model for testing the new vectors for replication in vivo, immunogenicity and protection against SIV or SHIV challenge.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2525</link><pubDate>2013-02-05</pubDate></item><item><title>DNA Promoters and Anthrax Vaccines</title><description><![CDATA[Currently, the only licensed vaccine against anthrax in the United States is AVA BioThrax?, which, although efficacious, suffers from several limitations. This vaccine requires six injectable doses over 18 months to stimulate protective immunity, requires a cold chain for storage, and in many cases has been associated with adverse effects.

This application claims a modified B. anthracis protective antigen (PA) gene for optimal expression and stability, linked it to an inducible promoter for maximal expression in the host, and fused to the secretion signal of the Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin protein (HlyA) on a low-copy-number plasmid. This plasmid was introduced into the licensed typhoid vaccine strain, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strain Ty21a, and was found to be genetically stable. Immunization of mice with three vaccine doses elicited a strong PA-specific serum immunoglobulin G response with a geometric mean titer of 30,000 (range, 5,800 to 157,000) and lethal-toxin-neutralizing titers greater than 16,000. Vaccinated mice demonstrated 100% protection against a lethal intranasal challenge with aerosolized spores of B. anthracis 7702.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2526</link><pubDate>2013-02-05</pubDate></item><item><title>Multivalent Meningiococcal Conjugates and Methods for Preparing Conjugates</title><description><![CDATA[Among 13 isolated meningococcal serogroups, A, B, C, W-135 and Y are the most prevalent.  There are three FDA-approved capsular polysaccharide (PS)-based vaccines, one tetravalent PS vaccine, and two tetravalent conjugate vaccines for protection against meningococcal disease caused by groups A, C, W-135 and Y Neisseria meningitidis.  Group B capsular PS is similar to the PS structure expressed in certain human tissues, thus making it a poor immunogen.  Furthermore, if used as a vaccine, the possibility exists of it inducing an autoimmune response.  Thus, a need remains to develop additional meningococcal vaccines, particularly for group B and group X meningococcal serogroups.

This application claims immunogenic conjugates including at least one polysaccharide conjugated to a group B factor H binding protein (fHbp).  Also claimed are immunogenic conjugates including at least one polysaccharide conjugated to a Neisserial surface protein A (NspA).  Additionally, improved methods for preparing conjugates are claimed.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2516</link><pubDate>2013-01-23</pubDate></item><item><title>Transmission-Blocking Malaria Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[There is no vaccine for malaria, and there is growing resistance to existing anti-malarial drugs.  Sexual stage-specific antigens are of interest as vaccine candidates because disruption of these antigens would reduce the fertility and, thus, the infectivity of the parasite.

This invention claims methods and compositions for delivering a Plasmodium P47 vaccine or antibody to P47 to prevent Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax malaria.  P47 and other antigens have been mentioned as potential transmission-blocking vaccines due to their surface location on gametes.  The gene for P47 antigens is also well characterized.  Recent discoveries have noted that P47 allows the parasite to suppress or evade the immune system, thereby ensuring the mosquitoes' survival.  Recent discoveries have also shown the mechanism by which P47 enables survival of the parasite by manipulation of the mosquito immune system.  Based on the critical role of P47 antigens in transmission, the disruption of the function of P47 by various means can be an innovative and forceful means to control and/or reduce the prevalence of malaria.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2506</link><pubDate>2013-01-11</pubDate></item><item><title>Typhoid-Plague Bivalent Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) bacteria is the causative agent of plague, typically transmitted from animals to humans by the bite of an infected flea. Y. pestis infection of the lungs leads to pneumonic plague, which is highly contagious and generally fatal. Y. pestis is a potential bioterrorist threat agent for which no vaccine yet exists.

This invention claims the generation and development of a candidate oral vaccine against plague. The vaccine consists of a synthetic gene construct that expresses a Y. pestis F1-V fusion antigen linked to a secretion signal, resulting in the production of large amounts of the F1-V antigen. The F1-V synthetic gene fusion is housed within Ty21a, an attenuated typhoid fever strain that is licensed for human use as a live oral bacterial vaccine. Ty21a serves as a carrier to deliver the F1-V fusion antigens of the plague bacteria; the combined F1-V fusion in the Ty21a carrier has been shown to stimulate a robust immune response in mice. The possibility of combining the oral plague vaccine of this invention with FDA?s candidate oral anthrax vaccine exists and would result in an easy-to-administer oral delivery system to streamline administration of the vaccine to large numbers of recipients in emergency situations.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2509</link><pubDate>2013-01-11</pubDate></item><item><title>Gag-Based DNA Vaccines Against HIV</title><description><![CDATA[Novel DNA vaccine constructs against HIV that express highly conserved elements (CE) within the HIV Gag protein and elicit strong, cross-clade cellular and humoral responses.  The DNA vaccine vectors were engineered to express CEs for protection against different clades of HIV and prevention of immunodominance, two issues associated with current HIV vaccine candidates.

In vivo studies of Rhesus macaques vaccinated with variants of these constructs expressing seven highly CEs covering >99 of all known Gag sequences elicited strong, cellular T-cell and humoral antibody immune responses.   The Gag-specific antibody responses were high titer and cross-clade.  Cross-clade protection is important given the sequence diversity of HIV as is the absence of immunodominant epitopes that generate antibodies which are not protective against HIV.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2503</link><pubDate>2012-11-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Method of Making a Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[Current invention describes the methods to prepare vaccines, and to use such vaccines in the vaccination and treatment of human disease, e.g., the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and cancer. More specifically, the present invention provides a vaccine and method for making same which is effective to elicit a desired antibody against a target antigen comprising a primary immunogen and a secondary immunogen, wherein the primary immunogen is effective to elicit B cell receptors (BCRs) that are on the maturational pathway of the desired antibody and have an intermediate degree of somatic mutational diversity, and the secondary immunogen comprises an epitope of the desired target antibody and is effective to further diversify the BCRs sufficient to form mature BCRs having the identical or substantially identical sequence as the desired antibody.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1899</link><pubDate>2012-09-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Generation of Wild-Type Dengue Viruses for Use in Rhesus Monkey Infection Studies</title><description><![CDATA[Dengue virus is a positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the Flavivirus genus of the family Flaviviridae.  Dengue virus is widely distributed throughout the tropical and semitropical regions of the world and is transmitted to humans by mosquito vectors.  Dengue virus is a leading cause of hospitalization and death in children in at least eight tropical Asian countries.  There are four serotypes of dengue virus (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4) that annually cause an estimated 50-100 million cases of dengue fever and 500,000 cases of the more severe form of dengue virus infection known as dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHFIDSS).  This latter disease is seen predominately in children and adults experiencing a second dengue virus infection with a serotype different than that of their first dengue virus infection and in primary infection of infants who still have circulating dengue-specific maternal antibody.  A vaccine is needed to lessen the disease burden caused by dengue virus, but none is licensed.

Because of the association of more severe disease with secondary dengue virus infection, a successful vaccine must induce immunity to all four serotypes.  Immunity is primarily mediated by neutralizing antibody directed against the envelope (E) glycoprotein, a virion structural protein.  Infection with one serotype induces long-lived homotypic immunity and a short-lived heterotypic immunity.  Therefore, the goal of immunization is to induce a long-lived neutralizing antibody response against DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4, which can best be achieved economically using live attenuated virus vaccines.  This is a reasonable goal since a live attenuated vaccine has already been developed for the related yellow fever virus, another mosquito-borne flavivirus present in tropical and semitropical regions of the world.

The evaluation of live attenuated dengue vaccine candidates in rhesus monkeys requires wild type control viruses for each of the four dengue serotypes.  These control viruses are used for comparison to the attenuated strains and post-vaccination challenge to assess vaccine efficacy. As such, these viruses need to be well characterized and sufficiently pure to ensure that they will replicate to consistent levels in rhesus monkeys.  Characterization generally includes sequence analysis, titration, and evaluation in monkeys.  The following viruses have been characterized: (1) DEN1 WP (2) DEN1 Puerto Rico/94 (3) DEN2 NGC prototype (4) DEN2 Tonga/74 (5) DEN3 Sleman/78 and (6) DEN4 Dominica/81.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1736</link><pubDate>2012-09-12</pubDate></item><item><title>Antigenic Chimeric Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus/Dengue Virus Type 4 Recombinant Viruses</title><description><![CDATA[The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) complex is a group of viruses that can cause severe neutrotropic disease and up to thirty percent (30%) mortality.  While these viruses can be found in many parts of the world, the largest impact of the disease occurs in Europe and Russia, where approximately fourteen thousand (14,000) hospitalized TBEV cases occur annually.  TBEV is in the family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus and is composed of a positive-sense single stranded RNA genome that contains 5' and 3' non-coding regions and a single open reading frame encoding ten (10) proteins.  At present, a vaccine or FDA approved antiviral therapy is not available.

The inventors have previously developed a WNV/Dengue4Delta30 antigenic chimeric virus as a live attenuated virus vaccine candidate that contains the WNV premembrane and envelope (prM and E) proteins on a dengue virus type 4 (DEN4) genetic background with a thirty nucleotide deletion (Delta30) in the DEN4 3'-UTR.  Using a similar strategy, the inventors have generated an antigenic chimeric virus, TBEV/DEN4Delta30.  This chimeric virus also contains attenuating mutations within the E and nonstructural NS5 proteins.  Preclinical testing results with the derived virus indicate that chimerization of TBEV with DEN4Delta30 and introduction of the attenuating mutations decreased neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence in mice.  The TBEV/DEN4delta30 vaccine candidate was safe, immunogenic, and provided protection in monkeys against challenge with TBE viruses.

This application claims live attenuated chimeric TBEV/DEN4Delta30 vaccine compositions.  Also claimed are methods of treating or preventing TBEV infection in a mammalian host, methods of producing a subunit vaccine composition, isolated polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a TBEV immunogen, methods for detecting TBEV infection in a biological sample and infectious chimeric TBEV.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2005</link><pubDate>2012-08-31</pubDate></item><item><title>Filovirus Vaccines and Diagnostics Based on Glycoprotein-Fc Fusion Proteins</title><description><![CDATA[Ebola virus is a member of the Filoviridae, a family of viruses classified as ?Category A? bioterrorism agents that cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates with high morbidity and mortality rates up to 90%.  This invention provides an efficacious Filovirus subunit vaccine based on a recombinant protein consisting of the extracellular domain of the Filovirus glycoprotein fused to an Fc Fragment of human immunoglobulin (FiloGP-Fc).  Vaccination with FiloGP-Fc elicited humoral and cellular immunity against Filoviruses.  The FiloGP-Fc vaccine induced antibodies that bound and neutralized replication-competent recombinant G-deleted Vesicular Stomatitis Virus containing the Filovirus GP (rVSV-FiloGP), and protected animals against Filovirus lethal challenge.  Also described are cellular and humoral immunity tests as well as rVSV-FiloGP neutralization tests to evaluate anti-Filovirus immune responses in individuals.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2315</link><pubDate>2012-08-17</pubDate></item><item><title>Self-Assembled Ferritin Nanoparticles Expressing Hemagglutinin as an Influenza Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[NIH inventors at the Vaccine Research Center have developed a novel influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA)-ferritin nanoparticle influenza vaccine that is easily manufactured, potent, and elicits broadly neutralizing influenza antibodies against multiple strains of influenza. This novel influenza nanoparticle vaccine elicited two types of broadly neutralizing, cross-protective antibodies, one directed to the highly conserved HA stem and a second proximal to the conserved receptor binding site (RBS) of the viral HA, providing a new platform for universal and seasonal influenza. In addition, HA-ferritin nanoparticles can be easily produced from simple expression vectors and without the production of infectious virus in eggs, and will facilitate influenza preparedness in the face of emerging epidemics.

This technology exploits ferritin, a ubiquitous iron storage protein, that self-assembles into spherical nanoparticles and could serve as a scaffold to express a heterologous protein, such as influenza HA, so it mimics a physiologically relevant trimeric viral spike.  Immunization with the HA-ferritin nanoparticle elicited neutralizing antibody titers that were >10-fold higher than a matched inactivated vaccine.  The immune sera raised by HA-ferritin nanoparticles expressing a 1999 HA neutralized seasonal H1N1 viruses from 1934 to 2007 and protected ferrets from an unmatched 2007 H1N1 virus challenge.  This extended neutralization coverage is partially explained by the presence of both type of antibodies, antibodies directed to the conserved HA stem and against the RBS region.  Finally, this ferritin nanoparticle vaccine platform has significant advantages in the ability to utilize specific multimerized spikes and it may be applicable to other viral proteins.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2463</link><pubDate>2012-07-20</pubDate></item><item><title>A Broadly Neutralizing Human Anti-HIV Monoclonal Antibody (10E8) Capable of Neutralizing Most HIV-1 Strains</title><description><![CDATA[This Human Anti-HIV Monoclonal Antibody (10E8) has great potential to provide passive protection from infection, as a therapeutic vaccine, or as a tool for the development of vaccine immunogens. 10E8 is one of the most potent HIV-neutralizing antibodies isolated thus far and it can potently neutralize up to 98% of genetically diverse HIV-1 strains. 10E8 is specific to the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV envelope protein, GP41. It is anticipated that 10E8 could be used in combination with another human anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibody to provide an antibody response that neutralizes nearly all strains of HIV-1.  Additionally, 10E8 is a useful tool for the design of vaccine immunogens that can elicit an adaptive immune response to produces 10E8 like antibodies.  This technology also includes monoclonal antibodies from the same germ line as 10E8.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2428</link><pubDate>2012-05-01</pubDate></item><item><title>Parvovirus B19 Codon Optimized Structural Proteins for Vaccine and Diagnostic Applications</title><description><![CDATA[Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is the only known pathogenic human parvovirus.  Infection by this viral pathogen can cause transient aplastic crisis in individuals with high red cell turnover, pure red cell aplasia in immunosuppressed patients, and hydrops fetalis during pregnancy.  In children, B19V most commonly causes erythema infectiosum, or fifth's disease.  Infection can also cause arthropathy and arthralgia.  The virus is very erythrotropic, targeting human erythroid (red blood) progenitors found in the blood, bone marrow, and fetal liver.  Currently, there are no approved vaccines or antiviral drugs for the treatment or prevention of B19V infection.

The subject technology is a series of plasmid constructs with codon optimized B19 viral capsid genes (VP1 and VP2) that can be expressed in mammalian cells.  Transfection of vectors encoding these optimized VP1 and VP2 genes into different mammalian cell lines, including 293, Cos7, and Hela cells produce virus-like particles (VLPs).  The vectors include bicistronic plasmids expressing the VP1 and VP2 proteins at different ratios to produce B19V VLPs with optimal antigenicity for vaccine applications.  This technology can also be used for diagnostic applications and development of a viral packaging system for producing infectious B19V virus.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2110</link><pubDate>2012-04-30</pubDate></item><item><title>Diagnostic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Peptides</title><description><![CDATA[The recent spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses among poultry and transmission of these viruses to humans raises concerns of a potential influenza pandemic.  There is a need to track the spread of these viruses both in the animal and human populations to avert or reduce the impact of any potential influenza pandemic as well as to know the actual number (accurate surveillance) of people infected with H5N1, including individuals with subclinical H5N1 infection.

The subject technology is a specific combination of H5N1 peptides useful for assays to detect antibodies generated against a wide range of different H5N1 strains.  The combination of peptides was able to specifically detect anti-H5N1 antibodies from serum samples of H5N1 survivors at early and later times post infection while excluding antibodies generated in individuals infected with other strains of influenza virus. Also, the peptides did not react with sera from individuals vaccinated with H5N1 vaccine, in contrast to the strain-specific detection of anti-H5N1 antibodies in sera from infected individuals.  Immunoassays using the H5N1 peptide combination provide highly specific, sensitive and reproducible methods for diagnosing H5N1 infection in humans and animals.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2125</link><pubDate>2012-04-30</pubDate></item><item><title>Bacterially Expressed Influenza Virus Recombinant HA Proteins for Vaccine and Diagnostic Applications</title><description><![CDATA[Pandemic H1N1 influenza virus is a recently emergent strain of influenza virus that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates has killed at least 14,711 people worldwide.  Avian influenza viruses are emerging health threats with pandemic potential.  Due to their global health implications, there has been a massive international effort to produce protective vaccines against these influenza virus strains.  Currently, influenza virus vaccines are produced in chicken eggs, a production method that is disadvantaged by lengthy vaccine production times and by inability to meet large-scale, global demands.

The subject technologies are specific recombinant HA proteins from H1N1, H5N1, and other strains of influenza virus produced in bacteria.  The HA proteins properly fold, form oligomers, bind fetuin, agglutinate red blood cells and induce strong neutralizing antibody titers in several in vivo animal models.  The key advantages of this technology are that expression of these proteins in bacteria reduces the vaccine production time and offers the ease of scalability for global usage, an issue with current production methods.  The recombinant HA proteins can also be used for diagnostic applications.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2126</link><pubDate>2012-03-03</pubDate></item><item><title>Influenza Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[It has been shown that the fusion peptide, a sequence comprised of fourteen amino acids at the N-terminal of the influenza hemagglutinin 2 protein, is conserved among A and B influenza viruses.  Monoclonal antibodies against this peptide are capable of binding all influenza virus HA proteins and inhibit viral growth by impeding the fusion process between the virus and the target cell.    This application claims immunogenic conjugates comprising the fusion peptide region linked to a carrier protein.  In preclinical studies, these conjugates were immunogenic and induced booster responses.  The induced antibodies bound to the recombinant HA protein.  This methodology of linking the highly conserved fusion peptide region to a carrier protein can broaden the protective immune response to include influenza A and B virus strains.  This would eliminate the need for annual influenza vaccination.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2365</link><pubDate>2012-02-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Method for Producing Significant Amounts of B19 Virus for Development of Killed or Attenuated Vaccines</title><description><![CDATA[Human parvovirus B19 (B19) is a common infection of children and adults and is the cause of fifth disease. B19 selectively infects erythroid progenitor cells of bone marrow, fetal liver and a small number of specialized cell lines. These specific cell lines demonstrate limited infectibility and commonly produce little or no virus following initial inoculation with B19. Current methods for producing infectious B19 require phlebotomy of infrequently available infected donors.  The available technology describes a method of producing pure populations of human erythroid progenitor cells that are fully permissive to B19 infection. The ability to efficiently generate significant amounts of infectious B19V in cells is useful for the development of killed or attenuated vaccines, therapeutics and efficient diagnostic tools for prevention and treatment of B19V.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1475</link><pubDate>2012-01-18</pubDate></item><item><title>Immunogenic Tetrasaccharide of Anthrax Spores</title><description><![CDATA[The subject of this invention is a conjugate vaccine against Bacillus anthracis the causative agent of anthrax.  Substantial effort has been made to study the structure and antigenic elements of the outermost layer of B. anthracis spores. The exosporium is fully exposed to the external environment. Analysis of isolated exosporia shows as many as 20 protein components of which the most prominent is the Bacillus collagen-like protein of anthracis (BclA), a glycoprotein that displays a unique tetrasaccharide capped at its upstream end with a novel sugar residue termed anthrose. Rabbit IgG antibodies elicited by B. anthracis spores specifically recognize this tetrasaccharide.  The anthrose-containing saccharide may be linked to acceptable protein carriers using standard chemistry.

Subsequent to this work, the laboratory has demonstrated that squaric acid chemistry may be a more efficient chemistry than is currently used to connect the carbohydrate and protein portions of the vaccine.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2348</link><pubDate>2012-01-09</pubDate></item><item><title>New Cholera Vaccine and Method for Conjugating Bacterial Polysaccharides to Proteins</title><description><![CDATA[A new conjugate vaccine for cholera has been developed.  The invention includes a new method to conjugate the O-specific polysaccharide-core part of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide and protein subcomponents.  Conventional technology has entailed chemical treatment of both components to introduce linkers, which made them amenable for covalent linking.  The new method simplifies production by utilizing squaric acid chemistry for conjugating the free amine-containing species (e.g. polysaccharides) directly to amine-containing species (e.g. proteins) without prior modification of either component.  While demonstrated in this new cholera prototype vaccine, the technology is envisioned as generally applicable, thereby streamlining a complex production process.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2349</link><pubDate>2012-01-09</pubDate></item><item><title>Aerosolized Vaccines</title><description><![CDATA[Vaccine delivery to humans by mucosal routes may offer some operational and immunological advantages over intramuscular administration by needle-and-syringe. Potential targets include the oral, nasal, rectal conjunctival, and vaginal surfaces with the oral and nasal routes being the most practical to consider for infants, children and adults of both sexes. Needle-free delivery methods may improve compliance, reduce discomfort, and improve safety of vaccines; particularly in the developing world, needle-free delivery could mitigate the risk of blood-borne pathogen transmission by unsafe injection practices or inadequately sterilized equipment, and be easier and safer to deploy by non-medical personnel.

Mucosal vaccination may offer a potential immunological advantage of recruiting mucosal lymphoid tissues that are important in mediation of immune responses, particularly at the entry site for infectious pathogens. Optimally formulated and delivered antigens may elicit a variety of responses in these tissues including secretory IgA, serum IgG capable of neutralizing toxins or viruses, and cell-mediated immunity as measured by cytotoxic T-cell responses and cytokine production.

In the case of respiratory delivery, specific particle sizes can target particular microenvironments within the lung. Efficient penetration of the lung parenchyma depends upon optimizing the size of the droplet in relation to the diameter of the respiratory airways. It has been recommended that school age children and adults be immunized with respiratory particles that are between 3 and 5 ?m in diameter, since a larger particle cannot effectively penetrate deep into the lung.

This application claims aerosolized immunogenic compositions comprising aerosolized immunogenic particles between 0.01 ?m and 15 ?m. The application also claims methods for delivering immunogenic compositions, methods for generating immune responses, and methods for treating infections by producing and administering aerosolized immunogenic compositions.  More specifically, the invention claims replication-defective recombinant adenoviruses encoding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and tuberculosis (TB) genes delivered by aerosolization into the lung. The inventors have shown that this regimen induces very high, stable cellular immune responses localized to the lung, as well as humoral responses in the lung, systemically, and, importantly, at distal mucosal sites. This regimen may prove highly useful for vaccination against respiratory infections such as TB, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, and provide a platform for generating mucosal antibody responses against other pathogens.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1828</link><pubDate>2011-11-01</pubDate></item><item><title>Vaccine to Prevent BK Polyomavirus-associated Kidney and Bladder Infections in Organ Transplant Recipients</title><description><![CDATA[Nearly all adults have chronic urinary tract infections with one or more strains of BK polyomavirus (BKV). In healthy persons, the infection is controlled by the immune system and no symptoms are apparent.  However, immunosuppressed persons, such as organ transplant recipients, can suffer from bladder disease or kidney disease caused by uncontrolled BKV growth. BKV causes cancer in animals; it is unknown if the same is true in humans. A significant need remains for a means of preventing BKV infection and associated pathologies.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, have developed compositions and therapeutic methods for pre-vaccination of organ transplant recipients against BKV and prognostic methods to identify patients that may benefit from the vaccination. Methods for producing a BKV vaccine against all four known BKV serotypes are in development.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2311</link><pubDate>2011-10-24</pubDate></item><item><title>Protease Deficient Bacillus anthracis with Improved Recombinant Protein Yield Capabilities</title><description><![CDATA[Species of Bacillus, such as Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus subtilis, are attractive microorganisms for recombinant protein production in view of their fast growth rate, high yield, and ability to secrete produced products directly into the medium. Bacillus anthracis is also attractive in view of its ability to produce anthrax toxin and ability to fold proteins correctly.  This application claims a B. anthracis strain in which more than one secreted protease is inactivated by genetic modification.  Such a protease-deficient B. anthracis has an improved ability to produce recombinant secreted proteins compared to other bacteria, particularly other Bacillus.  Improvements include production of intact (i.e., mature full-length) proteins, often at high yield.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2330</link><pubDate>2011-10-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Pertussis Vaccine</title><description><![CDATA[Despite mass vaccination, reported pertussis cases have increased in the United States and other parts of the world, probably because of increased awareness, improved diagnostic means, and waning vaccine-induced immunity among adolescents and adults. Licensed vaccines do not kill the organism directly; the addition of a component inducing bactericidal antibodies would improve vaccine efficacy. This application claims Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica LPS-derived core oligosaccharide (OS) protein conjugates. B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica core OS were bound to aminooxylated BSA via their terminal Kdo residues. The two conjugates induced similar anti-B. pertussis LPS IgG levels in mice. Conjugate-induced antisera were bactericidal against B. pertussis.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2289</link><pubDate>2011-10-11</pubDate></item><item><title>PSM Peptides as Vaccine Targets Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus</title><description><![CDATA[Available for licensing and commercial development are compositions and methods for the treatment and inhibition of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a dangerous human pathogen. The invention concerns immunogenic peptides that can be used to induce protective immunity against MRSA, including phenol-soluble modulin (PSM) peptides.

In addition to the MRSA infections that occur in immunocompromised patients in hospitals, new MRSA strains have recently emerged that can cause severe infections (such as necrotizing fasciitis) or death in otherwise healthy adults.  These strains are increasingly involved in community-associated (CA)-MRSA infections, and can be contracted outside of the health care settings.  The incidence of CA-MRSA infections is increasing and the majority of infections in patients reporting to emergency departments in the US is now due to CA-MRSA.

The invention describes a class of secreted staphylococcal peptides with an extraordinary ability to recruit, activate, and subsequently lyse human neutrophils, thus eliminating the main cellular defense against S. aureus infection.  The peptides are encoded by the PSM gene cluster and include PSMalpha1, PSMalpha2, PSMalpha3, and PSMalpha4, all of which activate and subsequently lyse neutrophils.  These peptides are produced at especially high levels in CA-MRSA and to a large extent determine their aggressive behavior and ability to cause disease in animal models of infection.  Thus, the peptides represent a set of virulence factors of S. aureus that account for the enhanced virulence of CA-MRSA.  The identification of these peptides enables the production of vaccines and other preventative and/or therapeutic agents for use in subjects infected with MRSA.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1717</link><pubDate>2011-09-01</pubDate></item><item><title>A Vaccine for Shigella sonnei for Both Children and Adults</title><description><![CDATA[There is currently no vaccine widely available for shigellosis, which affects over 150 million people worldwide and causes over 1 million deaths a year, mostly children.  The present invention discloses a novel immunogen to be used in a vaccine for both children and adults.  The immunogen, a low-molecular mass O-SP-core fragment, generates high antibody responses in animal studies, which means reduced number of vaccinations.  The immunogen is easy to isolate for ease of manufacturing.  Additionally, the methods of manufacturing vaccines and protocols of preventing and/or treating Shigellosis had been carried out in the present invention.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1908</link><pubDate>2011-08-30</pubDate></item><item><title>Method to Create Vaccines for the Prevention of Flavivirus Infections by Targeting Micro-RNA</title><description><![CDATA[There are more than seventy (70) single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses in the arthropod-borne flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family, many of which are important human pathogens that cause a devastating and often fatal neuroinfection. Flaviviruses are transmitted in nature to various mammals and birds through the bite of an infected mosquito or tick; they are endemic in many regions of the world and include mosquito-borne yellow fever (YFV), Japanese encephalitis (JEV), West Nile (WNV), St. Louis encephalitis (SLEV), dengue viruses (DEN) and the tick-borne encephalitis viruses (TBEV). During the past two decades, both mosquito-borne and tick-borne flaviviruses have emerged in new geographic areas of the world where previously they were not endemic and have caused outbreaks of diseases in humans and domestic animals.

Long-term experience with the only two successful live attenuated flavivirus vaccines has demonstrated that live attenuated virus vaccines are an efficient approach to prevent diseases caused by virulent flaviviruses because, in most cases, just a single dose of the vaccine provides a long-lasting protective immunity in humans that mimics the immune response following natural infection.

This application claims recombinant attenuated neurotropic flaviviruses comprising nucleic acid sequences complementary to the target sequences of microRNAs. The application also claims live attenuated chimeric flaviviruses, where the first flavivirus is a different flavivirus from the second flavivirus.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2220</link><pubDate>2011-08-02</pubDate></item><item><title>Multivalent Vaccines for Rabies Virus and Filoviruses</title><description><![CDATA[No vaccine candidates against Ebola virus (EBOV) or Marburg virus (MARV) are nearing licensure and the need to develop a safe and efficacious vaccine against filoviruses continues. Whereas several preclinical vaccine candidates against EBOV or MARV exist, their further development is a major challenge based on safety concerns, pre-existing vector immunity, and issues such as manufacturing, dosage, and marketability.  The inventors have developed a new platform based on live or chemically inactivated (killed) rabies virus (RABV) virions containing EBOV glycoprotein (GP) in their envelope.  In preclinical trials, immunization with such recombinant RABV virions provided excellent protection in mice against lethal challenge with the mouse adapted EBOV and RABV.  More specifically, the inventors have developed a trivalent filovirus vaccine based on killed rabies virus virions for use in humans to confer protection from all medically relevant filoviruses and RABV.  Two additional vectors containing EBOV Sudan GP or MARV GP are planned to be constructed in addition to the previously developed EBOV Zaire GP containing vaccine. The efficiency of these vaccines against challenge with EBOV, MARV and RABV will be studied in multiple preclinical studies.   Live attenuated vaccines are being developed for use in at risk nonhuman primate populations in Africa and inactivated vaccines are being developed for use in humans.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=2287</link><pubDate>2011-07-26</pubDate></item><item><title>Veterinary Influenza Vaccines</title><description><![CDATA[Sustained outbreaks of highly pathogenic influenza in animals increase the risk of reassortment and adaption to humans. This technology describes DNA vaccines against influenza serotypes H5N1, H1N1, H3N2, and H3N8 for poultry, swine and equine. Particularly one vaccine, a trivalent combination of H5N1 immunogens, effectively protects against homologous and heterologous challenges. These vaccines can be delivered intramuscularly or through needle-free delivery mechanism.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1731</link><pubDate>2011-03-21</pubDate></item><item><title>Vaccine for Dengue Virus</title><description><![CDATA[The claimed invention relates to viable chimeric dengue viruses or their derived recombinant mutants for use as vaccines against dengue and other flavivirus diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis and West Nile encephalitis.  Dengue is a mosquito-transmitted viral disease which occurs in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world.  Inactivated whole dengue virus vaccines have been shown to be insufficiently immunogenic and live dengue virus vaccines prepared by serial passage in cell culture have not been shown to be consistently attenuated.  A dengue vaccine is still not available.  The present invention represents a technical breakthrough, which provides new approaches to dengue vaccines by construction of chimeric dengue viruses of all four serotypes and strategic modification to produce attenuated virus strains.  Several fields of use remain available for licensing.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1478</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Porcine Rotavirus Reassortant Compositions</title><description><![CDATA[Rotaviruses are the predominant cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children and are associated with approximately 600,000 deaths each year worldwide.  Although death from rotavirus infection occurs more frequently in developing countries an estimated 55,000-70,000 hospitalizations and 20 to 60 deaths occur yearly in the United States.  Thus, accelerating the availability of a safe and effective rotavirus vaccine represents a global public health priority. 

Available for licensing and commercial development are newly developed human rotavirus-porcine rotavirus reassortant vaccine compositions and methodology for their use in humans.  This technology provides immunogenic compositions of reassortant human-porcine rotaviruses with VP7 specificity of the most clinically prevalent serotypes of human rotavirus found in various regions of the world.  These compositions, which need clinical evaluation, should be able to induce an immunogenic response specific to human rotavirus serotypes that is protective against symptoms of serious rotaviral disease, such as severe diarrhea and dehydration.  Porcine rotaviruses are genetically more closely related to human rotavirus strains compared to rhesus and bovine rotaviruses.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1399</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Nucleotide And Amino Acid Sequences Of The Four Variable Domains Of The Major Outer Membrane Proteins Of Chlamydia Trachomatis</title><description><![CDATA[Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading sexually transmitted infectious agent in the United States, causing about 10 million new cases per year. It is a major cause of involuntary infertility in women. This invention claims the DNA sequences, and their encoded amino acid sequences, of the four variable domains from the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Chlamydia trachomatis, from the serovars Ba, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and L3. Serovars D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K are the most common serovars associated with Chlamydia trachomatis caused sexually transmitted diseases. The claimed variable domains of MOMP contain the major antigen targets of protective immunity including neutralizing antibodies capable of preventing chlamydial infection. Thus, these sequences are useful for the development of recombinant protein, peptide, and DNA based vaccines against C. trachomatis caused sexually transmitted diseases. The variable domains also represent the primary serotyping antigenic determinants of C. trachomatis organisms making these variable domain sequences potential useful targets for the development of DNA or antibody based diagnostic assays for C. trachomatis. The invention is described further in Ying et al., Infection & Immunity 57, 1040-1049, 1989. Zhang et al., J. Infect. Dis. 176, 1035 - 1040, 1997 describes DNA vaccines utilizing MOMP DNA.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=121</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Recombinant DNA Clone Containing a Genomic Fragment of PfHRP-II Gene from Plasmodium falciparum</title><description><![CDATA[A fragment of the PfHRP-II gene of Plasmodium falciparum was cloned using recombinant DNA techniques.  This clone is capable of encoding PfHRP-II protein, a water-soluble, histidine-rich molecule that may be effective in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of human malaria, which is caused by the parasite, P. falciparum.  This protein may be particularly useful in the development of an anti-malaria vaccine.  To date, no malaria vaccine has been successful in human trials and most exhibit only limited effectiveness in primates.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1191</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium knowlesi Duffy Receptor</title><description><![CDATA[A useful protein in the development of a potential malaria vaccine has been developed by cloning the gene for the Duffy binding receptor of Plasmodium vivax, a human malaria.  Duffy blood group determinants on human erythrocytes are known to be essential for invasion by both the P. vivax and P. knowlesi malaria strains.  A candidate malaria vaccine could result from the use of antibodies to the recombinant Duffy receptor binding protein or the receptor protein itself functioning through competitive blocking therapy.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1187</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Transmission-Blocking Vaccine Against Malaria (1)</title><description><![CDATA[A transmission blocking vaccine developed against malaria contains a recombinant virus, which encodes a unique portion of the sexual stage surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum (referred to as Pfs25), or the Pfs25 protein purified from infected host cells.
Mice inoculated with the recombinant virus developed antibodies capable of blocking transmission of the virus.  None of the monoclonal antibodies known to block transmission recognize the reduced Pfs25 antigen.  This vaccine, which induces high, long-lasting titers at low cost, can be useful for controlling malaria.]]></description><link>http://www.ott.nih.gov/Technologies/abstractDetails.aspx?RefNo=1185</link><pubDate>2011-02-28</pubDate></item></channel></rss>