Title:  Pathogen-targeted biocatalysts

United States Patent:  6,287,561

Appl. No.:  410882

This invention pertains to biocatalysts that are specifically targeted to bind pathogens, such as viruses, and to degrade components of pathogens in order to abrogate their pathogenicity, and to methods of preventing or treating infection by pathogenic organisms. The biocatalysts comprise a binding agent which specifically binds a surface component of a pathogen, for instance the gp120 viral coat protein of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and a catalytic moiety which degrades a component of the pathogen so that its pathogenicity is abrogated. The binding agent and the catalytic moiety are linked by chemical linkers or genetic engineering techniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to biocatalysts that are specifically targeted to bind pathogens and to degrade components of pathogens in order to abrogate their pathogenicity, and to methods of preventing or treating infection by pathogenic organisms. The biocatalysts comprise a binding agent which specifically binds a surface component of a pathogen and a catalytic moiety which degrades a component of the pathogen so that its pathogenicity is abrogated. The binding agent and the catalytic moiety are linked by chemical or genetic engineering techniques.

The binding agent is typically an antibody, a receptor or an analogue of either of these which is specific for the targeted surface component. Alternatively, the binding agent can be a polyanionic or polycationic molecule able to bind by ionic interactions to a charged determinant on a surface component of the pathogen.

The catalytic moiety is an enzyme or catalytic antibody which degrades or substantially alters a component of the pathogen sufficiently to abrogate pathogenicity. Examples of enzymes include proteases, glycosidases, lipases and other hydrolases. The component of the pathogen targeted for degradation by the catalytic moiety can be the same or different from the component targeted for binding by the binding agent. For bacterium, the targeted component can be a capsular constituent. For a virus, the surface component can be an envelope protein or glycoprotein, preferably one which interacts with the cellular receptor for the virus and is involved in the mechanism of infection. An example is the gp120 envelope glycoprotein of HIV-1. To target this component, the binding agent can be an antibody specific for gp120, or a portion of the CD4 receptor able to bind gp120.

The biocatalyst of this invention can be used to prevent or treat infection by pathogenic organisms. The biocatalyst is administered to the host organism in a physiologically acceptable vehicle in amounts sufficient to abrogate pathogenicity.

Claim 1 of 39 Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A pathogen-targeted biocatalyst, comprising a binding agent which specifically binds a surface component of the pathogen and a catalytic moiety which degrades a component of the pathogen such that pathogenicity is abrogated.

____________________________________________
If you want to learn more about this patent, please go directly to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site to access the full patent.