Histidine kinase two-component in candida albicans

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a novel Candida albicans gene encoding a polypeptide which is a member of the histidine kinase family. More specifically, isolated nucleic acid molecules are provided encoding a Candida albicans polypeptide named Histidine Kinase-1 (CaHK-1). CaHK-1 polypeptides are also provided, as are vectors, host cells and recombinant methods for producing the same. The invention further relates to methods for testing compounds for ability to inhibit CaHK-1, an enzyme which is active in phosphorylating host cell proteins to render the host cell susceptible to invasion by Candida albicans

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] All cells must sense changes in their environment and respond appropriately. In this regard, the two-component signal transduction regulatory system was initially described in prokaryotic organisms where it is thought to play a function in chemotaxis, osmoregulation, sporulation, host-pathogen interactions and response to carbon, nitrogen and phosphate availability. In these microorganisms, the prototypical two-component regulator system is comprised of two proteins, a histidine protein kinase (also called a sensor protein and usually cell membrane-bound) and a response regulator (or effector protein), which is associated with an internal response. The sensor kinase, when activated by a signal, autophosphorylates a histidine residue using ATP as a phosphodonor; the histidine is a part of a conserved block of residues, typically referred to as the H-box. Subsequently, the phosphorylated sensor kinase serves as a phosphodonor to a conserved aspartate residue in the response regulator. This phosphorylation modulates the activity of the effector protein to elicit an adaptive response to the stimulus (reviewed in Hoch and Silhavy, Two-component signal transduction, ASM Press. Washington, D.C. USA (1995)).

[0004] Although the general sequence of events and the number of proteins involved is similar for all of these organisms, each pathway exhibits some variation on the basic scheme (Appleby et al., Signal transduction via the multi-step phosohorelay: not necessarily a road less traveled, Cell 86, 845-848 (1996)). For instance, in Bordetella pertussis, the BvgS-BvgA two-component modulates the transcriptional control of several virulence factors. Although there are two proteins, four phosphorylation events occur in sequence, creating a four-step His-Asp-His-Asp phosphorelay (Uhl and Miller; Integration of multiple domains in a two-component sensor protein: the Bordetella pertussis BvgAS phosphorelay, EMBO J. 15, 1028-1036 (1996)). A similar mechanism has been the plant pathogenic bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae.

[0005] Homologous pathways have recently been identified in several eukaryotic organisms, including, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dictyostelium discoideum, Neurospora crassa and Arabidopsis thaliana. In S. cerevisiae the phosphorelay through a two-component signal pathway is composed of three proteins. An Sln1p transmembrane protein serves as a sensor protein, which after autophosphorylation of a histidine residue and transfer to an aspartate in the same protein, phosphorylates a histidine residue of a second protein (Ypd1p). Ypd1p is a small cytoplasmic protein, which functions much like a sensor protein and, in turn, it phosphorylates a third protein effector in the relay system (Ssk1p). The activation of a downstream MAP kinase cascade is dependent upon the phosphorylation of Ssk1p. In cells which are grown under low osmotic conditions, phosphorylated Ssk1p does not activate the Map kinase pathway. However, under conditions of hyperosmolarity, phosphotransfer among the two-component does not occur. Consequently, the MAP kinase pathway and the transcription of genes involved in glycerol metabolism occur. This pathway, referred to as the HOG pathway (High Osmolarity Glycerol Response), thus provides a phosphorylated effector molecule which is inactive in environmentally stressed conditions. In D. discoideum two different histidine kinases (DhkA and DokA) have been described. DhkA modulates the transcriptional regulation of prestalk gene expression and the control of the terminal differentiation pathway. DokA is involved, like Sln1p in S. cerevisiae, in the osmoregulatory pathway. In N. crassa, a two-component histidine kinase (Nik-1) has been reported to be involved in hyphal development and osmosensitivity. Finally, in A. thaliana the product of the ETR1 gene may be involved in an early step in ethylene signal transduction through phosphorylation, as in the prokaryotic two-component systems. Thus, there is a need for the discovery of proteins responsible for causing diseases resulting from infection with pathogenic fungi because such proteins may be used in the development of treatments for such diseases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising a polynucleotide encoding a portion of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or the amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA clone deposited as plasmid DNA as ATCC Deposit Number 209504 on Nov. 26, 1997. The nucleotide sequence was determined by sequencing the deposited cloned DNA, which is shown in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1), and contains an open reading frame encoding a complete polypeptide of 971 amino acid residues, including an initiation codon encoding an N-terminal methionine at nucleotide positions 181 to 183. Nucleic acid molecules of the invention include those encoding the complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine shown in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1), or the complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine encoded by the cloned DNA in ATCC Deposit Number 209504, which molecules also can encode additional amino acids fused to the N-terminus of the CaHK-1 amino acid sequence.

[0007] The invention further provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising a polynucleotide encoding a full length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4) or the complete amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA clones deposited as plasmid DNA as ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505 deposited Nov. 26, 1997. The nucleotide sequence was determined by sequencing the deposited cloned DNA, which is shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), and contains an open reading frame encoding a complete polypeptide of 2471 amino acid residues, including an initiation codon encoding an N-terminal methionine at nucleotide positions 1117 to 1119. Nucleic acid molecules of the invention include those encoding a complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or the partial amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine encoded by the cloned DNA in ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505, which molecules also can encode additional amino acids fused to the N-terminus of the CaHK-1 amino acid sequence.

[0008] The CaHK-1 proteins of the present invention share sequence homology with the translation products of the mRNA for two component histidine kinases from several prokaryotes and eukaryotes (FIG. 3), including the following conserved domains: (a) the predicted sensor domain (residues 482 to 721 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or residues 1982 to 2221 in FIG. 5) (SEQ ID NO: 4); and (b) the predicted response regulator domain domain (residues 834 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or residues 2334 to 2471 in FIG. 5) (SEQ ID NO: 4). Two component histidine kinases are thought to be important in virulence. The homology between CaHK-1 and other histidine kinases (FIG. 3) indicates that CaHK-1 may also be involved in virulence of Candida albicans.

[0009] Thus, one aspect of the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) a nucleotide sequence encoding a full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequences in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) or FIG. 5, (SEQ ID NO: 3) or the complete amino acid sequence encoded by the cloned DNA contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding a full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) or FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3) excepting the N-terminal methionine (i.e., amino acid positions 2 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) and amino acid positions 2 to 2471 in FIG. 5) (SEQ ID NO: 3) or the complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine encoded by the cloned DNA contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers. 209504 and 209505; (c) a nucleotide sequence encoding the predicted sensor domain of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 482 to 721 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) or 1982 to 2221 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or as encoded by the cloned DNA contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (d) a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising the predicted response regulator domain of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 834 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) or residues 2334 to 2471 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or as encoded by the cloned DNA contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (e) the predicted sensor and response regulator domains of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 482 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 3) or residues 1982 to 2471 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4), or as encoded by the cloned DNA contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; and (f) a nucleotide sequence complementary to any of the nucleotide sequences in (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above.

[0010] Further embodiments of the invention include isolated nucleic acid molecules that comprise a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence at least 90% identical, and more preferably at least 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical, to any of the nucleotide sequences in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f), above, or a polynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent hybridization conditions to a polynucleotide in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f), above. This polynucleotide which hybridizes does not hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions to a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence consisting of only A residues or of only T residues. An additional nucleic acid embodiment of the invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a polynucleotide which encodes the amino acid sequence of an epitope-bearing portion of a CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence in (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), above.

[0011] The present invention also relates to recombinant vectors, which include the isolated nucleic acid molecules of the present invention, and to host cells containing the recombinant vectors, as well as to methods of making such vectors and host cells and for using them for production of CaHK-1 polypeptides or peptides by recombinant techniques.

[0012] The invention further provides an isolated CaHK-1 polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence of the full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4), or the complete amino acid sequence encoded by the DNAs clone contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (b) the amino acid sequence of a full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4), excepting the N-terminal methionine (i.e., amino acid positions 2 to 971 of FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) and positions 2 to 2471 of FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4)) or the complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine encoded by the DNA clone contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (c) the amino acid sequence of the sensor domain of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 482 to 721 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or 1982 to 2221 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 4), or as encoded by the DNA clones contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; (d) the amino acid sequence of the response regulator domain of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 834 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or residues 2334 to 2471 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or as encoded by the DNA clones contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505; and (e) the amino acid sequence of the sensor and response regulator domains of the CaHK-1 polypeptide having the amino acid sequence at positions 482 to 971 in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or positions 1982 to 2471 in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 3), or as encoded by the DNA clones contained in the ATCC Deposit Numbers 209504 and 209505.

[0013] A futher nucleic acid embodiment of the invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a polynucleotide which encodes the amino acid sequence of a CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence which contains at least one conservative amino acid substitution, but not more than 50 conservative amino acid substitutions, even more preferably, not more than 40 conservative amino acid substitutions, still more preferably, not more than 30 conservative amino acid substitutions, and still even more preferably, not more than 20 conservative amino acid substitutions. Of course, in order of ever-increasing preference, it is highly preferable for a polynucleotide which encodes the amino acid sequence of a CaHK-1 polypeptide to have an amino acid sequence which contains not more than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 conservative amino acid substitutions.

[0014] An additional embodiment of this aspect of the invention relates to a peptide or polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence of an epitope-bearing portion of a CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence described in (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), above. Peptides or polypeptides having the amino acid sequence of an epitope-bearing portion of a CaHK-1 polypeptide of the invention include portions of such polypeptides with at least six or seven, preferably at least nine, and more preferably at least about 30 amino acids to about 50 amino acids, although epitope-bearing polypeptides of any length up to and including the entire amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of the invention described above also are included in the invention.

[0015] In another embodiment, the invention provides an isolated antibody that binds specifically to a CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence described in (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above. The term antibody includes polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies and fragments thereof including F(ab), F(ab)2, single-chain antibodies (sFv), disulfide-linked variable regions (dsFv), The term antibody further includes humanized and chimeric antibodies. The invention further provides methods for isolating antibodies that bind specifically to a CaHK-1 polypeptides having an amino acid sequence as described herein including but not limited to hybridoma technology and phage display methods. Such antibodies are useful diagnostically or therapeutically as described below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND TABLES

[0016]
FIG. 1 shows the nucleotide sequence of a CaHK-1 polynucleotide (FIG. 1A, SEQ ID NO: 1) and the deduced amino acid sequence (FIG. 1B, SEQ ID NO: 2) of a CaHK-1 polypeptide. In case of conflict between FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is controlling.

[0017]
FIG. 2 shows the nucleotide sequence of a partial C. albicans CaHK-1 gene clone and flanking regions. The predicted amino acid sequence of the ORF is shown in a one-letter code. Six putative N-glyosylation sites (Ans-X-Ser/Thr) are underlined, and the predicted autophosphorylated His and the Asp which serves as the residue for the second phosphorylation are bolded.

[0018]
FIG. 3 shows a comparison of the sensor kinase domain of CaHK-1, using the residue designation from FIG. 2, with other histidine kinases from prokaryotic (Shk, BarA and LemA) and eukaryotic (DokA, Nik-1 and Sln1p) cells. The putative autophosphorylated His is indicated by an asterisk.

[0019]
FIG. 4 shows the nucleotide sequence of a CaHK-1 polynucleotide (FIG. 4A, SEQ ID NO: 3) and the deduced amino sequence (FIG. 4B, SEQ ID NO: 4) of a CaHK-1 polypeptide.

[0020]
FIG. 5 shows the nucleotide sequence of the full length C. albicans CaHK-1 gene and flanking regions. The putative TATA-like sequence, AT-rich, and CT-box are underlined. The predicted amino acid sequence of the ORF is shown in a one-letter code.

[0021] Table 1 lists the amino acid residues comprising antigenic epitopes present in the full length CaHK-1 polypeptide described in FIG. 4, as predicted by the inventors using the algorithm of Jameson and Wolf, (1988) Comp. Appl. Biosci. 4:181-186. The Jameson-Wolf antigenic analysis was performed using the computer program PROTEAN (Version 3.11 for the Power MacIntosh, DNASTAR, Inc., 1228 South Park Street Madison, Wis). It will be appreciated that depending on the analytical criteria used to predict antigenic determinants, the exact address of the determinant may vary slightly. The exact location of the antigenic determinant may shift by about 1 to 5 residues, more likely 1 to 2 residues, depending on the criteria used. It will also be appreciated that, generally speaking, amino acids can be added to either terminus of a peptide or polypeptide containing an antigenic epitope without affecting its activity, whereas removing residues from a peptide or polypeptide containing only the antigenic determinant is much more likely to destroy activity. It will be appreciated that the residues and locations shown described in Table 1 correspond to the polypeptide sequence of FIG. 4 (SEQ ID NO: 4).

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] A histidine kinase, two-component gene (CaHK-1) from Candida albicans has been cloned and characterized. The full length gene encodes a 2471 amino acid protein with an estimated molecular mass of 281.8 kDa (FIG. 5). A partial length clone has also been isolated that encodes a 110.6 kDa fragment (FIG. 2). A homology search of CaHK-1 polypeptides with other proteins in the databases showed that CaHK-1 exhibits the greatest homology, with both the sensor and regulator components of prokaryotic and eukaryotic two-component histidine kinases. A further analysis of this homology showed that CaHK-1 possessed both sensor and regulator domains in the same polypeptide. Also, CaHK-1 is probably found as a soluble protein. The sensor kinase domain of CaHK-1 contains a conserved motif that is characteristic of all histidine kinase proteins, including the putative histidine which is believed to be autophosphorylated during activation, ATP binding motifs and others (F and N-motifs), with unknown function. The CaHK-1 sensor domain also contains conserved aspartate and lysine residues and the putative aspartate which is secondarily phosporylated by the autophosphorylated histidine. In addition, Southern blot analysis of the C. albicans genomic DNA suggests that only there is one copy of the CaHK-1 gene in the C. albicans genome.

[0023] Until now, the isolation of two-component genes from human pathogenic fungi has not been reported. However, recently, a partial cDNA has been isolated by random sequencing of a cDNA Candida albicans library. The partial cDNA has a significant homology with a cyanobacterium histidine kinase (Synechocystis app.) (Kanero et al., 1996), Pseudomonas aeruginosa histidine kinase LemA, a sensor Escherichia coli histidine kinase (BarA), Erwinzia carotovora subsp. carotovora sensor/regulator protein RpfA, as well as with histidine kinases of N. crassa, D. discoideum and S. cerevisiae. CaHK-1 is believed to function similarly to the two-component histidine kinases in the regulation of virulence in pathogenic bacteria and in the molecular events that regulate the osmolarity and differentiation in fungi.

Restriction Map of the CaHK-1 Gene

[0024] In order to isolate the CaHK-1 gene to a specific restriction fragment of the genomic DNA of C. albicans, a Southern blot experiment at high stringency was performed after digestion of the genomic DNA with several restriction enzymes as described (see section 2.4). A 5.0 kb BglII-BglII fragment was identified from genomic DNA which hybridized to the 1.0 kb NotI-SalI probe. These results indicate that the C. albicans genome contains only one copy of the CaHK-1 gene. However, this does not preclude the possibility of additional histidine kinase genes in C. albicans. Using reauced stringency conditions, multiple histidine kinases have been detected in Arabidopsis. In Dictyostelium and Neurospora, two histidine kinases have been characterized by PCR using degenerate oligonucleotides as primers that were designed based on the conserved sequences of bacterial histidine kinases.

[0025] On the other hand, by a northern experiment, it was shown that the full length CaHK-1 gene is transcribed in a 7.6 kb mRNA which matches the size of the full length ORF, so the whole ORF of CaHK-1 should be contained within the 5.0 kb fragment.

Isolation of a Histidine Kinase Gene of C. Albicans (CaHK-1)

[0026] Fourteen clones (designed G1-G14) were isolated from a genomic λENML3 library of C. albicans. Restrictions analysis of the DNA samples obtained from each clone by BglII digestion and Southern blot, revealed that only five of them contained the entire 5.0 kb BglII-BglII fragment described above. This fragment from the clone G3 was purified, subcloned into pBS SK+ (Stratagene) and sequenced on both strands. In FIG. 2 is shown the relevant 3.13 kb DNA sequence that contains a 2913 bp ORF of CaHK-1 encoding a protein with 971 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass and pI of 110.6 kDa and 6.54, respectively. A new probe corresponding to a 1.1 kb BglII-EcoR1 fragment, located at the 5′ end of the 5.0 kb BglII-BglII, was prepared. By using this probe, a 2.6 kb EcoR1-EcoR1 fragment that overlapped the 5.0 kb BglII-BglII fragment by 1.1 kb was identified, subcloned and sequenced. Finally, a new round of chromosome walking was completed by using as a probe the new 1.5 kb non-overlapping sequence of the 2.6 kb fragment. A 3.5 kb BglII-BglII fragment, which overlaps the 2.6 kb EcoR1-EcoR1 fragment, was identified, subcloned, and sequenced. A putative start site for the CaHK-1 gene within this fragment was identified. The full length CaHK-1 gene is shown in FIG. 5. The 2913 ORF discussed above is an inframe ORF within the full length CaHK-1 7413 bp ORF of FIG. 5.

[0027] In order to determine how far the mRNA extends upstream from the start site, we amplified the 5′ end of the mRNA by RT-PCR using two different pairs of primers. In all cases, one primer was the same (p1) and was primary used in the RT step. In the PCR reaction, the p1 primer, which hybridizes between positions 845 to 864 downstream from the start site (FIG. 5), was used in combination with the other primers, which were designed according to their locations within the 5′ non-coding sequence.

[0028] One of these primers (p2) hybridized just downstream from the putative TATA-like sequence, and the other (p3) hybridized just upstream from the AT-rich region (FIG. 5). The results showed that RT-PCR using the p1/p2 pair produced a fragment of 0.98 kb, but when the p1/p3 pair was used, no product was obtained, indicating that the mRNA does not extend beyond the point where the p2 primer hybridizes. Moreover, the TATA-like sequence located just upstream from where p2 hybridizes should be most probable functional TATA-like sequence.

[0029] In addition to the putative TATA-like sequence (from position −62 to −67 of the start site shown in FIG. 5) in the 5′ non-coding region of CaHK-1, a CT-bot and an AT-rich region, localized between positions −99 to −117 and −126 to −162 upstream from the start codon (FIG. 5), respectively, are also found. The consensus sequence surrounding the start codon of the CaHK-1 gene (5′-AAATCATGTCT-3′) (SEQ ID NO: 8), also matches the consensus sequence surrounding S. cerevisiae start codons (5′-AAAYAATGTCT-3′) (SEQ ID NO: 9), (Hinnebush and Liebman (1991) In Broach, J. R. et al. (Eds.) The Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., pp. 627-735). In the 3′ non-coding region, there is a putative polyadenylation signal (AATAAA-like) between positions 12 to 19 downstream from the stop codon (FIG. 5). Within the encoding region, no introns were identified, similar to most of the C. albicans genes characterized thus far.

[0030] The 7413 bp ORF of CaHK-1 encodes a protein of 2471 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 281.1 kDa and a pI of 6.51. Analysis of previously characterized bacterial and eukaryotic histidine kinases has revealed the existence of two extensive hydrophobic regions which are thought to correspond to transmembrane-spanning segments that define a sensory extracellular domain. However, the CaHK-1 gene product, when analyzed using Kyte-Doolittle and Goldman algorithms, does not show any extensive hydrophobic stretch of amino acids. Hence, it is expected that CaHK-1 is fairly protein soluble.

Comparison of the Amino Acid Sequence of CaHK-1 with Other Related Histidine Kinases

[0031] A computer search using the BLAST program (Altschul et al., 1990) revealed that the N-terminal end of the CaHK-1 protein does not share homology with any protein. This is in agreement with all other histidine kinases, whose sensor input domain differs broadly in structure, reflecting the variety of chemical and physical stimuli they detect.

[0032] However, the CaHK1 C-terminal end shares strong homology to kinases of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. (GeneBank Accession numbers: D90903 and D90910), the E. coli sensor regulator BarA, the P. synringae LemA, Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora sensor/regulator protein RpfA, and with the B. pertussis BvgS virulence regulator factor. It also shows a strong homology with several eukaryotic histidine kinases among them, DokA and DhkA from D. discoideum; Nik-1 from N. crassa; Sln1p from S. cerevisiae; and ETR1 from A. thaliana. The deduced CaHK-1 sequence is most similar to the sequence of the Synechocystis histidine kinases ORF ID: slr1759 [D90903] (40.8% identity; 50.2% similarity), Pseudomonas aeruginosa histidine kinase LemA (4105% identity; 51.4% similarity), Synechocystis histidine kinase [D90910] ORF ID: sll1905 (42.3% identity; 51.5% similarity), Ervinia carotovora subsp. carotovora sensor/regulator protein RpfA (40.0% identity; 51.2% similarity), and E. coli BarA sensor-regulator protein. (39.9% identity; 53.1% similarity),

[0033] The carboxyl-terminal sequences of histidine kinases of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have highly conserved sensor and response regulator domains. The average length of 240 aa for the sensor and 120 as for the response regulator appears to be fairly uniform. In bacteria, the histidine kinase domain of the sensor is characterized by five sequence motifs arranged in a specific order with loosely conserved spacing. This was also found in DhkA and DokA from Dictyostelium, Sln1p from Saccharomyces, Nik-1 from Neurospora and ETR1 from Arabidopsis. All of these enzymes are characterized by a motif flanking the histidine residue that is autophosphrylated (H-motif), a N-motif which is located about 100 aa downstream from the H-motif, two glycine-rich regions (G1 and G2 motifs) that form the ATP biding site, and the F-motif which is located between the G1 and G2 motifs. On the other hand, the sensor protein is usually membrane-bound, while most of the response regulators from bacteria are found as soluble proteins. However, in some histidine kinases from bacteria (for example, in BvgS from B. pertussis) and in the characterized eukaryotic histidine kinases, the sensor and the response regulator are different domains of a single polypeptides which are membrane-bound, except Nik-1 and DhkA which appear as soluble proteins. In all of these examples, in the response regulator domain, there are three conserved motifs that include a pair of aspartates near the N-termini, an aspartate motif which accepts a phosphate and a motif near the C-termini which contains a key lysine.

[0034] Comparison of CaHK-1 polypeptides to sequences in databases revealed extensive similarities to both the sensor and response regulator of bacterial, fungal and plant two-component systems. The CaHK-1 polypeptides, like most of the characterized eukaryotic histidine kinases, exhibits the sensor kinase and the receiver module of the response regulator in the same polypeptide. The histidine kinase domain (sensor domain) of the CaHK-1 polypeptides is located between residues 482 and 721 (FIG. 2) and 1982 to 2221 (FIG. 5). This domain contains all of the conserved residues and spacing between prokaryotic and eukaryotic histidine kinases, including the putative phosphoryl group acceptor (His507) and the conserved Asn (Asn620) separated by 112 aa. Other conserved motifs in this domain include the sequences of the G1 motif (residues 656-660 (FIG. 2) or 2156-2160 (FIG. 5), DSGIG) and G2 motif (residues 686-690 (FIG. 2) or 2186-2190 (FIG. 5), GSGLG), which fit the consensus GXGXG-[X15-50]-GXGXG for glycine rich loops characteristics of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding proteins. Between the G1 and G2 motifs is also found the F-motif (residues 670-673 (FIG. 2) or 2170-2173 (FIG. 5), FXXF) (Ota and Varsharvsky, 1993).

[0035] In the response regulator domain of CaHK-1 (2334-2471 in FIG. 5), FIG. 3, and by inference from sequence similarities, the Asp2394 should be the predicted site of phosphorylation and the His2007 of the CaHK-1 sensor kinase domain the putative donor of the phosphoryl group. The Asp2346 should be one of the pair of aspartates that are conserved among prokaryotic response regulators but apparently not in eukaryotic, in which it appears as ED instead of DD. The Lys2451 should be the other conserved residue.

[0036] As Nik-1, Sln1p and Doka have been shown to be associated with osmosensing, CaHK-1 may also be associated with this process in C. albicans. On the other hand, its similarity with virulence factor regulators such as the BvgS from B. pertussis and LemA from P. syringae, may indicate that the CaHK-1 gene could play a key role in the regulation of the virulence in C. albicans.

[0037] CaHK-1 polynucleotides can be used in an expression system for producing CaHK-1 protein in sufficient quantities for use in assays. The in vitro assay involves measuring the activity of the CaHK-1 protein in the presence of putative inhibitory compounds. The activity of the CaHK-1 protein in the presence of each compound is measured and compared to untreated CaHK-1. The CaHK-1 protein transfers phosphate to a second protein (acceptor protein). The activity of the CaHK-1 is measured by the transfer of radiolabeled phosphate from CaHK-1 to the acceptor protein. This method provides a ready means for testing the inhibitory potential of such compounds before testing as described below.

[0038] Antibodies which specifically bind/recocnize CaHK-1 polypeptides may be used in immunoassays to detect the presence of C. albicans in biological samples including but not limited to tissues, smears, and fluids (e.g. urine, blood, saliva).

[0039] In the second phase, active compounds that are inhibitory can be tested in vitro against cells of the organism to determine if the compound inhibits growth of the Candida organism. Inhibitory compounds characterized through these studies can then be tested in animal models for candidiasis.

NUCLEIC ACID MOLECULES

[0040] The present invention also relates to recombinant vectors including, which include the isolated nucleic acid molecules of the present invention or fragments thereof. The present invention also relates to host cells containing the recombinant vectors, as well as to methods of making such vectors and host cells and for using them for production of CaHK-1 polypeptides or peptides by recombinant techniques. In another aspect, the invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA clone contained in the plasmid deposited as ATCC Deposit No.s 209504 and 209505.

[0041] In addition, isolated nucleic acid molecules of the invention include DNA molecules which comprise a sequence substantially different from those described above but which, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, still encode the CaHK-1 protein. Of course, the genetic code and species-specific codon preferences are well known in the art. Thus, it would be routine for one skilled in the art to generate the degenerate variants described above, for instance, to optimize codon expression for a particular host (e.g., change codons in the human mRNA to those preferred by a bacterial host such as E. coli.

[0042] In another aspect, the invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA clone contained in the plasmid deposited as ATCC Deposit No.s 209504 and 209505.

[0043] Unless otherwise indicated, each “nucleotide sequence” set forth herein is presented as a sequence of deoxyribonucleotides (abbreviated A, G, C and T). However, by “nucleotide sequence” of a nucleic acid molecule or polynucleotide is intended, for a DNA molecule or polynucleotide, a sequence of deoxyribonucleotides, and for an RNA molecule or polynucleotide, the corresponding sequence of ribonucleotides (A, G, C and U), where each thymidine deoxyribonucleotide (T) in the specified deoxyribonucleotide sequence is replaced by the ribonucleotide uridine (U).

[0044] Nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be in the form of RNA, such as mRNA, or in the form of DNA, including, for instance, cDNA and genomnic DNA obtained by cloning or produced synthetically. The DNA may be double-stranded or single-stranded. Single-stranded DNA or RNA may be the coding strand, also known as the sense strand, or it may be the non-coding strand, also referred to as the anti-sense strand.

[0045] By “isolated” nucleic acid molecule(s) is intended a nucleic acid molecule, DNA or RNA, which has been removed from its native environment. For example, recombinant DNA molecules contained in a vector are considered isolated for the purposes of the present invention. Further examples of isolated DNA molecules include recombinant DNA molecules maintained in heterologous host cells or purified (partially or substantially) DNA molecules in solution. Isolated RNA molecules include in vivo or in vitro RNA transcripts of the DNA molecules of the present invention. Isolated nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention further include such molecules produced synthetically.

[0046] The invention further provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule having the nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) or a nucleic acid molecule having a sequence complementary to one of the above sequences. Such isolated molecules, particularly DNA molecules, are useful as probes for gene mapping and for identifying C, albicans a biological sample, for instance, by PCR, Southern blot, Northern blot, or other form of hybridization analysis.

[0047] The present invention is further directed to nucleic acid molecules encoding portions or fragments of the nucleotide sequences described herein. Fragments include portions of the nucleotide sequences of FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) at least 10 contiguous nucleotides in length selected from any two integers, one of which representing a 5′ nucleotide position and a second of which representing a 3′ nucleotide position, where the first nucleotide for each nucleotide sequence in FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) is position 1. That is, every combination of a 5′ and 3′ nucleotide position that a fragment at least 10 contiguous nucleotides in length could occupy is included in the invention. “At least” means a fragment may be 10 contiguous nucleotide bases in length or any integer between 10 and the length of an entire nucleotide sequence of FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) minus 1. For example, for SEQ ID NO: 3 fragment sizes include any interger between 10 and 8555 in length specified by 5′ and 3′ positions. Therefore, included in the invention are contiguous fragments specified by any 5′ and 3′ nucleotide base positions of a nucleotide sequences of FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) wherein the contiguous fragment is any integer between 10 and the length of an entire nucleotide sequence minus 1.

[0048] Further, the invention includes polynucleotides comprising fragments specified by size, in nucleotides, rather than by nucleotide positions. The invention includes any fragment size, in contiguous nucleotides, selected from integers between 10 and the length of an entire nucleotide sequence minus 1. For example, for SEQ ID NO: 3 fragment sizes include any interger between 10 and 8555 in length. Preferred sizes of contiguous nucleotide fragments include 20 nucleotides, 30 nucleotides, 40 nucleotides, 50 nucleotides. Other preferred sizes of contiguous nucleotide fragments, which may be useful as diagnostic probes and primers, include fragments 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 nucleotides in length which include, as discussed above, fragment sizes representing each integer between 50-300. Larger fragments are also useful according to the present invention corresponding to most, if not all, of the nucleotide sequences shown in FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). The preferred sizes are, of course, meant to exemplify not limit the present invention as all size fragments, representing any integer between 10 and the length of an entire nucleotide sequence minus 1, are included in the invention. Additional preferred nucleic acid fragments of the present invention include nucleic acid molecules encoding epitope-bearing portions of CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention. Other preferred nucleic acid fragments of the present invention also include nucleic acid molecules comprising sequences encoding the residues comprising epitope-bearing portions of the CaHK-1 polypeptides shown in Table 1.

[0049] The present invention also provides for the exclusion of any fragment, specified by 5′ and 3′ base positions or by size in nucleotide bases as described above for the nucleotide sequences of FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). Any number of fragments of nucleotide sequences in FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) or specified fragmented thereof, specified by 5′ and 3′ base positions or by size in nucleotides, as described above, may be excluded from the present invention.

[0050] In another aspect, the invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising polynucleotides which hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions to a polynucleotide sequence of the present invention described above, for instance, a nucleic acid sequence shown in FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) or specified fragment thereof. By “stringent hybridization conditions” is intended overnight incubation at 42 C in a solution comprising: 50% formamide, 5x SSC (150 mM NaCl, 15 mM trisodium citrate), 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7.6), 5x Denhardt's solution, 10% dextran sulfate, and 20 g/ml denatured, sheared salmon sperm DNA, followed by washing the filters in 0.1x SSC at about 65 C.

[0051] These polynucleotides are useful as diagnostic probes and primers as discussed above and in more detail below. Hybridizing polynucleotide fragments of the present invention are useful diagnostically either as probes according to conventional DNA hybridization techniques or as primers for amplification of a target sequence by PCR, as described, for instance, in Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd. edition, Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T., eds., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

VARIANT AND MUTANT POLYNUCLEOTIDES

[0052] Since nucleic acid sequences encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention are provided in FIG. 1 or 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively), generating polynucleotides which hybridize to portions of these sequences would be routine to the skilled artisan. For example, the hybridizing polynucleotides of the present invention could be generated synthetically according to known techniques.

[0053] Nucleic acid molecules of the present invention which encode CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention may include, but are not limited to those encoding the amino acid sequences of the polypeptides by themselves; and additional coding sequences which code for additional amino acids, such as those which provide additional functionalities. Thus, the sequences encoding these polypeptides may be fused to a marker sequence, such as a sequence encoding a peptide which facilitates purification of the fused polypeptide. In certain preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention, the marker amino acid sequence is a hexa-histidine peptide, such as the tag provided in a pQE vector (Qiagen, Inc.), among others, many of which are commercially available. As described in Gentz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:821-824 (1989), for instance, hexa-histidine provides for convenient purification of the resulting fusion protein.

[0054] Thus, the present invention also includes genetic fusions wherein the CaHK-1 nucleic acid sequences coding sequences provided in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) are linked to additional nucleic acid sequences to produce fusion proteins. These fusion proteins may include epitopes of Candidal or non-Candidal origin designed to produce proteins having enhanced immunogenicity or stability. Further, the fusion proteins of the present invention may contain antigenic determinants known to provide helper T-cell stimulation, peptides encoding sites for post-translational modifications which enhance immunogenicity (e.g., acylation), peptides which facilitate purification (e.g., histidine “tag”), or amino acid sequences which target the fusion protein to a desired location (e.g., a heterologous leader sequence). For instance, hexa-histidine provides for convenient purification of the fusion protein. See Gentz et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 86:821-24. The “HA” tag is another peptide useful for purification which corresponds to an epitope derived from the influenza hemagglutinin protein. See Wilson et al. (1984) Cell 37:767. As discussed below, other such fusion proteins include the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention fused to an immunoglobulin, Fc, or portion thereof, at the N- or C-terminus.

[0055] The present invention thus includes nucleic acid molecules and sequences which encode fusion proteins comprising one or more CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention fused to an amino acid sequence which allows for post-translational modification to enhance immunogenicity. This post-translational modification may occur either in vitro or when the fusion protein is expressed in vivo in a host cell. An example of such a modification is the introduction of an amino acid sequence which results in the attachment of a lipid moiety. Such a lipid moiety attachmnent site of OspA, which is lipidated upon expression in E. coli, has been identified. Bouchon, B. et al., Anal. Biochem. 246:52-61 (1997).

[0056] Thus, as indicated above, the present invention includes genetic fusions wherein a CaHK-1 nucleic acid sequence provided in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) is linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a heterologous amino acid sequence. These other amino acid sequences may be of Candidal origin or non-Candidal origin.

[0057] The present invention further relates to variants of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention, which encode portions, analogs or derivatives of the CaHK-1 polypeptides shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). Variants may occur naturally, such as a natural allelic variant. By an “allelic variant” is intended one of several alternate forms of a gene occupying a given locus on a chromosome of an organism. Genes II, Lewin, B., ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York (1985). Non-naturally occurring variants may be produced using art-known mutagenesis techniques.

[0058] Such variants include those produced by nucleotide substitutions, deletions or additions. The substitutions, deletions or additions may involve one or more nucleotides. These variants may be altered in coding regions, non-coding regions, or both. Alterations in the coding regions may produce conservative or non-conservative amino acid substitutions, deletions or additions. Especially preferred among these are silent substitutions, additions and deletions, which do not alter the properties and activities of the CaHK-1 polypeptides disclosed herein or portions thereof. Also especially preferred in this regard are conservative substitutions.

[0059] The present application is further directed to nucleic acid molecules at least 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to a nucleic acid sequence shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). The above nucleic acid sequences are included irrespective of whether they encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 activity. This is because even where a particular nucleic acid molecule does not encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 activity, one of skill in the art would still know how to use the nucleic acid molecule, for instance, as a hybridization probe. For example, uses of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention that do not encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 activity include, inter alia, isolating an CaHK-1 gene or allelic variants thereof from a DNA library, and detecting CaHK-1 mRNA expression samples, environmental samples, suspected of containing C. albicans by Northern Blot analysis.

[0060] Embodiments of the invention include isolated nucleic acid molecules comprising a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence at least 90% identical, and more preferably at least 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to (a) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence of the full-length polypeptides shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively); (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding any of the amino acid sequences of the full-length polypeptides shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), but minus the N-terminal methionine residue; and (c) a nucleotide sequence complementary to any of the nucleotide sequences in (a) or (b) above.

[0061] Preferred, are nucleic acid molecules having sequences at least 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the nucleic acid sequence shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively), which do, in fact, encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 protein activity By “a polypeptide having CaHK-1 activity” is intended polypeptides exhibiting activity similar, but not necessarily identical, to an activity of the CaHK-1 protein of the invention, as measured in a particular biological assay known in the art, e.g. the kinase assays described in Huang J. et al. 1992 J. Biol. Chem. 267(22):15511-15515.

[0062] Due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, one of ordinary skill in the art will immediately recognize that a large number of the nucleic acid molecules having a sequence at least 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identical to the nucleic acid sequences shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) will encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 protein activity. In fact, since degenerate variants of these nucleotide sequences all encode the same polypeptide, this will be clear to the skilled artisan even without performing the above described comparison assay. It will be further recognized in the art that, for such nucleic acid molecules that are not degenerate variants, a reasonable number will also encode a polypeptide having CaHK-1 protein activity. This is because the skilled artisan is fully aware of amino acid substitutions that are either less likely or not likely to significantly effect protein function (eag, replacing one aliphatic amino acid with a second aliphatic amino acid), as further described below. The biological activity or function of the polypeptides of the present invention are expected to be similar or identical to polypeptides from other organisms that share a high degree of structural identity/similarity, such as those discussed herein.

[0063] By a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence at least, for example, 95% “identical” to a reference nucleotide sequence of the present invention, it is intended that the nucleotide sequence of the polynucleotide is identical to the reference sequence except that the polynucleotide sequence may include up to five point mutations per each 100 nucleotides of the reference nucleotide sequence encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptide. In other words, to obtain a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence at least 95% identical to a reference nucleotide sequence, up to 5% (5 of 100) of the nucleotides in the reference sequence may be deleted, inserted, or substituted with another nucleotide. The query sequence may be an entire sequence shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively), the ORF (open reading frame), or any fragment specified as described herein.

[0064] As a practical matter, whether any particular nucleic acid molecule or polypeptide is at least 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to a nucleotide sequence of the presence invention can be determined conventionally using known computer programs. A preferred method for determining the best overall match between a query sequence (a sequence of the present invention) and a subject sequence, also referred to as a global sequence alignment, can be determined using the FASTDB computer program based on the algorithm of Brutlag et al. See Brutlag et al. (1990) Comp. App. Biosci. 6:237-245. In a sequence alignment the query and subject sequences are both DNA sequences. An RNA sequence can be compared by first converting U's to T's. The result of said global sequence alignment is in percent identity. Preferred parameters used in a FASTDB alignment of DNA sequences to calculate percent identity are: Matrix=Unitary, k-tuple=4, Mismatch Penalty=1, Joining Penalty=30, Randomization Group Length=0, Cutoff Score=1, Gap Penalty=5, Gap Size Penalty 0.05, Window Size=500 or the lenght of the subject nucleotide sequence, whichever is shorter.

[0065] If the subject sequence is shorter than the query sequence because of 5′ or 3′ deletions, not because of internal deletions, a manual correction must be made to the results. This is because the FASTDB program does not account for 5′ and 3′ truncations of the subject sequence when calculating percent identity. For subject sequences truncated at the 5′ or 3′ ends, relative to the query sequence, the percent identity is corrected by calculating the number of bases of the query sequence that are 5′ and 3′ of the subject sequence, which are not matched/aligned, as a percent of the total bases of the query sequence. Whether a nucleotide is matched/aligned is determined by results of the FASTDB sequence alignment. This percentage is then subtracted from the percent identity, calculated by the above FASTDB program using the specified parameters, to arrive at a final percent identity score. This corrected score is what is used for the purposes of the present invention. Only nucleotides outside the 5′ and 3′ nucleotides of the subject sequence, as displayed by the FASTDB alignment, which are not matched/aligned with the query sequence, are calculated for the purposes of manually adjusting the percent identity score.

[0066] For example, a 90 nucleotide subject sequence is aligned to a 100 nucleotide query sequence to deterimine percent identity. The deletions occur at the 5′ end of the subject sequence and therefore, the FASTDB alignment does not show a matched/alignment of the first 10 nucleotides at 5′ end. The 10 unpaired nucleotides represent 10% of the sequence (number of nucleotides at the 5′ and 3′ ends not matched/total number of nucleotides in the query sequence) so 10% is subtracted from the percent identity score calculated by the FASTDB program. If the remaining 90 nucleotides were perfectly matched the final percent identity would be 90%. In another example, a 90 nucleotide subject sequence is compared with a 100 nucleotide query sequence. This time the deletions are internal deletions so that there are no nucleotides on the 5′ or 3′ of the subject sequence which are not matched/aligned with the query. In this case the percent identity calculated by FASTDB is not manually corrected. Once again, only nucleotides 5′ and 3′ of the subject sequence which are not matched/aligned with the query sequence are manually corrected for. No other manual corrections are to made for the purposes of the present invention.

VECTORS AND HOST CELLS

[0067] The present invention also relates to vectors which include the isolated DNA molecules of the present invention, host cells which are genetically engineered with the recombinant vectors, and the production of CaHK-1 polypeptides or fragments thereof by recombinant techniques.

[0068] Recombinant constructs may be introduced into host cells using well known techniques such as infection, transduction, transfection, transvection, electroporation and transformation. The vector may be, for example, a phage, plasmid, viral, cosmid, YAC, or vector including adenoviral and retroviral vectos. Retroviral vectors may be replication competent or replication defective. In the latter case, viral propagation generally will occur only in complementing host cells.

[0069] The polynucleotides may be joined to a vector containing a selectable marker for propagation in a host. Generally, a plasmid vector is introduced in a precipitate, such as a calcium phosphate precipitate, or in a complex with a charged lipid. If the vector is a virus, it may be packaged in vitro using an appropriate packaging cell line and then transduced into host cells.

[0070] Preferred are vectors comprising cis-acting control regions to the polynucleotide of interest. Appropriate trans-acting factors may be supplied by the host, supplied by a complementing vector or supplied by the vector itself upon introduction into the host.

[0071] In certain preferred embodiments in this regard, the vectors provide for specific expression, which may be inducible and/or cell type-specific. Particularly preferred among such vectors are those inducible by environmental factors that are easy to manipulate, such as temperature and nutrient additives.

[0072] Expression vectors useful in the present invention include chromosomal-, episomal- and virus-derived vectors, e.g., vectors derived from bacterial plasmids, bacteriophage, yeast episomes, yeast chromosomal elements, viruses such as baculoviruses, papova viruses, vaccinia viruses, adenoviruses, fowl pox viruses, pseudorabies viruses and retroviruses, and vectors derived from combinations thereof, such as cosmids and phagemids.

[0073] The DNA insert should be operatively linked to an appropriate promoter, such as the phage lambda PL promoter, the E. coli lac, trp and tac promoters, the SV40 early and late promoters and promoters of retroviral LTRs, to name a few. Other suitable promoters will be known to the skilled artisan. The expression constructs will further contain sites for transcription initiation, termination and, in the transcribed region, a ribosome binding site for translation. The coding portion of the mature transcripts expressed by the constructs will preferably include a translation initiating site at the beginning and a termination codon (UAA, UGA or UAG) appropriately positioned at the end of the polypeptide to be translated.

[0074] As indicated, the expression vectors will preferably include at least one selectable marker. Such markers include dihydrofolate reductase or neomycin resistance for eukaryotic cell culture and tetracycline or ampicillin resistance genes for culturing in E. coli and other bacteria. Representative examples of appropriate hosts include, but are not limited to, fungal cells, including yeast cells, such as Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae; bacterial cells, such as E. coli, Streptomyces and Salmonella typhimurium cells; insect cells such as Drosophila S2 and Spodoptera Sf9 cells; animal cells such as HeLa, L, F9, CHO, COS and Bowes melanoma cells; and plant cells. Appropriate culture mediums and conditions for the above-described host cells are known in the art.

[0075] Also included in the present invention are Candida albicans cells with heterozygous or homozygous (null) mutations including knockout deletions, insertions, or substitutions. Further included are mutations that increase, reduce, or eliminate CaHK-1 activity. These mutant strains of C. albicans are useful in virulence studies and in drug screening methods to identity and assay drugs, including agonist and antagonist, that target CaHK-1.

[0076] Among vectors preferred for use in bacteria include pQE70, pQE60 and pQE-9, available from Qiagen; pBS vectors, Phagescript vectors, Bluescript vectors, pNH8A, pNH16a, pNH18A, pNH46A available from Stratagene; pET series of vectors available from Novagen; and ptrc99a, pKK223-3, pKK233-3, pDR540, pRIT5 available from Pharmacia. Among preferred eukaryotic vectors are pWLNEO, pSV2CAT, pOG44, pXT1 and pSG available from Stratagene; and pSVK3, pBPV, pMSG and pSVL available from Pharmacia. Other suitable vectors will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan.

[0077] Among known bacterial promoters suitable for use in the present invention include the E. coli lacI and lacZ promoters, the T3 and T7 promoters, the gpt promoter, the lambda PR and PL promoters and the trp promoter. Suitable eukaryotic promoters include the CMV immediate early promoter, the HSV thymidine kinase promoter, the early and late SV40 promoters, the promoters of retroviral LTRs, such as those of the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), and metallothionein promoters, such as the mouse metallothionein-I promoter.

[0078] Introduction of the construct into the host cell can be effected by calcium phosphate transfection, DEAE-dextran mediated transfection, cationic lipid-mediated transfection, electroporation, transduction, infection or other methods. Such methods are described in many standard laboratory manuals, such as Davis et al., Basic Methods In Molecular Biology (1986).

[0079] Transcription of DNA encoding the polypeptides of the present invention by higher eukaryotes may be increased by inserting an enhancer sequence into the vector. Enhancers are cis-acting elements of DNA, usually about from 10 to 300 bp that act to increase transcriptional activity of a promoter in a given host cell-type. Examples of enhancers include the SV40 enhancer, which is located on the late side of the replication origin at bp 100 to 270, the cytomegalovirus early promoter enhancer, the polyoma enhancer on the late side of the replication origin, and adenovirus enhancers.

[0080] For secretion of the translated polypeptide into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, into the periplasmic space or into the extracellular environment, appropriate secretion signals may be incorporated into the expressed polypeptide (e.g. KDEL). The signals may be endogenous to the polypeptide or they may be heterologous signals.

[0081] The polypeptide may be expressed in a modified form, such as a fusion protein, and may include not only secretion signals, but also additional heterologous functional regions. For instance, a region of additional amino acids, particularly charged amino acids, may be added to the N-terminus of the polypeptide to improve stability and persistence in the host cell, during purification, or during subsequent handling and storage. Also, peptide moieties may be added to the polypeptide to facilitate purification. Such regions may be removed prior to final preparation of the polypeptide. The addition of peptide moieties to polypeptides to engender secretion or excretion, to improve stability and to facilitate purification, among others, are familiar and routine techniques in the art. A preferred fusion protein comprises a heterologous region from immunoglobulin that is useful to solubilize proteins. For example, EP-A-O 464 533 (Canadian counterpart 2045869) discloses fusion proteins comprising various portions of constant region of immunoglobin molecules together with another human protein or part thereof. In many cases, the Fc part in a fusion protein is thoroughly advantageous for use in therapy and diagnosis and thus results, for example, in improved pharmacokinetic properties (EP-A 0232 262). On the other hand, for some uses it would be desirable to be able to delete the Fc part after the fusion protein has been expressed, detected and purified in the advantageous manner described. This is the case when Fc portion proves to be a hindrance to use in therapy and diagnosis, for example when the fusion protein is to be used as antigen for immunizations. In drug discovery, for example, human proteins, such as, hIL5-receptor has been fused with Fc portions for the purpose of high-throughput screening assays to identify antagonists of hIL-5. See Bennett, D. et al., J. Molec. Recogn. 8:52-58 (1995) and Johanson, K. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270 (16):9459-9471 (1995).

[0082] The CaHK-1 polypeptides can be recovered and purified from recombinant cell cultures by well-known methods including ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography, lectin chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (“HPLC”) is employed for purification. Polypeptides of the present invention include naturally purified products, products of chemical synthetic procedures, and products produced by recombinant techniques from a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host, including, for example, bacterial, yeast, higher plant, insect and mammalian cells.

POLYPEPTIDES AND FRAGMENTS

[0083] The invention further provides isolated polypeptides having the amino acid sequences in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), and peptides or polypeptides comprising portions of the above polypeptides. The terms “peptide” and “oligopeptide” are considered synonymous (as is comunonly recognized) and each term can be used interchangeably as the context requires to indicate a chain of at least two amino acids coupled by peptidyl linkages. All oligopeptide and polypeptide formulas or sequences herein are written from left to right and in the direction from amino terminus to carboxy terminus.

Variant and Mutant Polypeptides

[0084] To improve or alter the characteristics of CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention, protein engineering may be employed. Recombinant DNA technology known to those skilled in the art can be used to create novel mutant proteins or muteins including single or multiple amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, or fusion proteins. Such modified polypeptides can show, e.g., enhanced activity or increased stability. In addition, they may be purified in higher yields and show better solubility than the corresponding natural polypeptide, at least under certain purification and storage conditions.

N-Terminal and C-Terminal Deletion Mutants

[0085] It is known in the art that one or more amino acids may be deleted from the N-terminus or C-terminus without substantial loss of biological function. For instance, Ron et al. J. Biol. Chem., 268:2984-2988 (1993), reported modified KGF proteins that had heparin binding activity even if 3, 8, or 27 N-terminal amino acid residues were missing. Accordingly, the present invention provides polypeptides having one or more residues deleted from the amino terminus of the amino acid sequence of the CaHK-1 polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention.

[0086] Similarly, many examples of biologically functional C-terminal deletion muteins are known. For instance, Interferon gamma shows up to ten times higher activities by deleting 8-10 amino acid residues from the carboxy terminus of the protein See, e.g., Dobeli, et al. (1988) J. Biotechnology 7:199-216. Accordingly, the present invention provides polypeptides having one or more residues from the carboxy terminus of the amino acid sequence of the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention. The invention also provides polypeptides having one or more amino acids deleted from both the amino and the carboxyl termini as described below.

[0087] The present invention is further directed to polynucleotides encoding portions or fragments of the amino acid sequences described herein as well as to portions or fragments of the isolated amino acid sequences described herein. Fragments include portions of the amino acid sequences of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), at least 7 contiguous amino acid in length, selected from any two integers, one of which representing the N-terminal position. The first N-terminal and the other representing the C-terminal position of the fragment codon of the polypeptides of the FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively) is position 1. Every combination of a N-terminal and C-terminal position that a fragment at least 7 contiguous amino acid residues in length could occupy, on any given amino acid sequence of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively) is included in the invention. At least means a fragment may be 7 contiguous amino acid residues in length or any integer between 7 and the number of residues in a full length amino acid sequence minus 1. For example, for SEQ ID NO: 4 “at least” means a fragment between 7 and 2470 residues in length. Therefore, included in the invention are contiguous fragments specified by N-terminal and C-terminal position STET of amino acid sequences set forth in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively) wherein the contiguous fragment is any integer between 7 and the number of residues in a full length sequence minus 1.

[0088] Further, the invention includes polypeptides comprising fragments specified by size, in amino acid residues, rather than by N-terminal and C-terminal positions. The invention includes any fragment size, in contiguous amino acid residues, selected from integers between 7 and the number of residues in a full length sequence minus 1. For example, for SEQ ID NO: 4 fragment sizes between the integers of 7 and 2470 residues in length are included in the present invention. Preferred sizes of contiguous polypeptide fragmnents include about 7 amino acid residues, about 10 amino acid residues, about 20 amino acid residues; about 30 amino acid residues, about 40 amino acid residues, about 50 amino acid residues, about 100 amino acid residues, about 200 amino acid residues, about 300 amino acid residues, and about 400 amino acid residues. The preferred sizes are, of course, meant to exemplify, not limit, the present invention as all size fragments representing any integer between 7 and the number of residues in a full length sequence minus 1 are included in the invention. The present invention also provides for the exclusion of any fragments specified by N-terminal and C-terminal positions or by size in amino acid residues as described above. Any number of fragments specified by N-terminal and C-terminal positions or by size in amino acid residues as described above may be excluded.

[0089] The above fragments need not be active since they would be useful, for example, in immunoassays, in epitope mapping, epitope tagging, to generate antibodies to a particular portion of the protein, as vaccines, and as molecular weight markers in gel electrophoresis and column chromatography.

Other Mutants

[0090] In addition to N- and C-terminal deletion forms of the protein discussed above, it also will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that some amino acid sequences of the CaHK-1 polypeptides can be varied without significant effect of the structure or function of the protein. If such differences in sequence are contemplated, it should be remembered that there will be critical areas on the protein which determine activity.

[0091] Thus, the invention further includes variations of the CaHK-1 polypeptides which show substantial CaHK-1 polypeptide activity or which include regions of CaHK-1 polypeptides such as the protein portions discussed below. Such mutants include deletions, insertions, inversions, repeats, and type substitutions selected according to general rules known in the art so as to have little effect on activity. For example, guidance concerning how to make phenotypically silent amino acid substitutions is provided. There are two main approaches for studying the tolerance of an amino acid sequence to change. See, Bowie, J. U. et al. (1990), Science 247:1306-1310. The first method relies on the process of evolution, in which mutations are either accepted or rejected by natural selection. The second approach uses genetic engineering to introduce amino acid changes at specific positions of a cloned gene and selections or screens to identify sequences that maintain functionality.

[0092] These studies have revealed that proteins are surprisingly tolerant of amino acid substitutions. The studies indicate which amino acid changes are likely to be permissive at a certain position of the protein. For example, most buried amino acid residues require nonpolar side chains, whereas few features of surface side chains are generally conserved. Other such phenotypically silent substitutions are described by Bowie et al. (supra) and the references cited therein. Typically seen as conservative substitutions are the replacements, one for another, among the aliphatic amino acids Ala, Val, Leu and Ile; interchange of the hydroxyl residues Ser and Thr, exchange of the acidic residues Asp and Glu, substitution between the amide residues Asn and Gln, exchange of the basic residues Lys and Arg and replacements among the aromatic residues Phe, Tyr.

[0093] Thus, the fragment, derivative, analog, or homolog of the polypeptides of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), may be: (i) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues are substituted with a conserved or non-conserved amino acid residue (preferably a conserved amino acid residue) and such substituted amino acid residue may or may not be one encoded by the genetic code: or (ii) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues includes a substituent group: or (iii) one in which the CaHK-1 polypeptide is fused with another compound, such as a compound to increase the half-life of the polypeptide (for example, polyethylene glycol): or (iv) one in which the additional amino acids are fused to the above form of the polypeptide, such as an IgG Fc fusion region peptide or leader or secretory sequence or a sequence which is employed for purification of the above form of the polypeptide or a proprotein sequence. Such fragments, derivatives and analogs are deemed to be within the scope of those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. Thus, the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention may include one or more amino acid substitutions, deletions, or additions, either from natural mutations or human manipulation. As indicated, changes are preferably of a minor nature, such as conservative amino acid substitutions that do not significantly affect the folding or activity of the protein.

[0094] Amino acids in the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention that are essential for function can be identified by methods known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis or alanine-scanning mutagenesis. See, e.g., Cunningham et al. (1989) Science 244:1081-1085. The latter procedure introduces single alanine mutations at every residue in the molecule. The resulting mutant molecules are then tested for biological activity using assays appropriate for measuring the function of the particular protein.

[0095] Of special interest are substitutions of charged amino acids with other charged or neutral amino acids which may produce proteins with highly desirable improved characteristics, such as less aggregation. Aggregation may not only reduce activity but also be problematic when preparing pharmaceutical forrmulations, because aggregates can be immunogenic. See, e.g., Pinckard et al., (1967) Clin. Exp. Immunol. 2:331-340; Robbins, et al., (1987) Diabetes 36:838-845; Cleland, et al., (1993) Crit. Rev. Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems 10:307-377.

[0096] The polypeptides of the present invention are preferably provided in an isolated form, and preferably are substantially purified. A recombinantly produced version of the CaHK-1 polypeptide can be substantially purified by the one-step method described by Smith et al. (1988) Gene 67:31-40. Polypeptides of the invention also can be purified from natural or recombinant sources using antibodies directed against the polypeptides of the invention in methods which are well known in the art of protein purification.

[0097] The invention further provides for isolated CaHK-1 polypeptides comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence of a full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively); (b) the amino acid sequence of a full-length CaHK-1 polypeptide having the complete amino acid sequence shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively) excepting the N-terminal methionine, (c) the complete amino acid sequence encoded by the plaimds listed in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively); and (d) the complete amino acid sequence excepting the N-terminal methionine encoded by the plaimds contained in ATCC Deposit No.s 209504 and 209505. The polypeptides of the present invention also include polypeptides having an amino acid sequence at least 80% identical, more preferably at least 90% identical, and still more preferably 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to those described in (a), (b), (c), and (d) above.

[0098] Further polypeptides of the present invention include polypeptides which have at least 90% similarity, more preferably at least 95% similarity, and still more preferably at least 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% similarity to those described above.

[0099] A further embodiment of the invention relates to a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence of a CaHK-1 polypeptide having an amino acid sequence which contains at least one conservative amino acid substitution, but not more than 50 conservative amino acid substitutions, not more than 40 conservative amino acid substitutions, not more than 30 conservative amino acid substitutions, and not more than 20 conservative amino acid substitutions. Also provided are polypeptides which comprise the amino acid sequence of a CaHK1-l polypeptide, having at least one, but not more than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 conservative amino acid substitutions.

[0100] By a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least, for example, 95% “identical” to a query amino acid sequence of the present invention, it is intended that the amino acid sequence of the subject polypeptide is identical to the query sequence except that the subject polypeptide sequence may include up to five amino acid alterations per each 100 amino acids of the query amino acid sequence. In other words, to obtain a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least 95% identical to a query amino acid sequence, up to 5% of the amino acid residues in the subject sequence may be inserted, deleted, (indels) or substituted with another amino acid. These alterations of the reference sequence may occur at the amino or carboxy terminal positions of the reference amino acid sequence or anywhere between those terminal positions, interspersed either individually among residues in the reference sequence or in one or more contiguous groups within the reference sequence.

[0101] As a practical matter, whether any particular polypeptide is at least 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to, for instance, the amino acid sequences shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), a specified fragment thereof, or to the amino acid sequence encoded by the plaimds contained in ATCC Deposit No.s 209504 and 209505 can be determined conventionally using known computer programs. A preferred method for determining the best overall match between a query sequence (a sequence of the present invention) and a subject sequence, also referred to as a global sequence alignment, can be determined using the FASTDB computer program based on the algorithm of Brutlag et al., (1990) Comp. App. Biosci. 6:237-245. In a sequence alignment the query and subject sequences are both amino acid sequences. The result of said global sequence alignment is in percent identity. Preferred parameters used in a FASTDB amino acid alignment are: Matrix=PAM 0, k-tuple=2, Mismatch Penalty=1, Joining Penalty=20, Randomization Group Length=0, Cutoff Score=1, Window Size=sequence length, Gap Penalty=5, Gap Size Penalty=0.05, Window Size=500 or the length of the subject amino acid sequence, whichever is shorter.

[0102] If the subject sequence is shorter than the query sequence due to N- or C-terminal deletions, not because of internal deletions, the results, in percent identity, must be manually corrected. This is because the FASTDB program does not account for N- and C-terminal truncations of the subject sequence when calculating global percent identity. For subject sequences truncated at the N- and C-termini, relative to the query sequence, the percent identity is corrected by calculating the number of residues of the query sequence that are N- and C-terminal of the subject sequence, which are not matched/aligned with a corresponding subject residue, as a percent of the total bases of the query sequence. Whether a residue is matched/aligned is determined by results of the FASTDB sequence alignment. This percentage is then subtracted from the percent identity, calculated by the above FASTDB program using the specified parameters, to arrive at a final percent identity score. This final percent identity score is what is used for the purposes of the present invention. Only residues to the N- and C-termini of the subject sequence, which are not matched/aligned with the query sequence, are considered for the purposes of manually adjusting the percent identity score. That is, only query amino acid residues outside the farthest N- and C-terminal residues of the subject sequence.

[0103] For example, a 90 amino acid residue subject sequence is aligned with a 100 residue query sequence to determine percent identity. The deletion occurs at the N-terminus of the subject sequence and therefore, the FASTDB alignment does not match/align with the first 10 residues at the N-terminus. The 10 unpaired residues represent 10% of the sequence (number of residues at the N- and C- termini not matched/total number of residues in the query sequence) so 10% is subtracted from the percent identity score calculated by the FASTDB program. If the remaining 90 residues were perfectly matched the final percent identity would be 90%. In another example, a 90 residue subject sequence is compared with a 100 residue query sequence. This time the deletions are internal so there are no residues at the N- or C-termini of the subject sequence which are not matched/aligned with the query. In this case the percent identity calculated by FASTDB is not manually corrected. Once again, only residue positions outside the N- and C-terminal ends of the subject sequence, as displayed in the FASTDB alignment, which are not matched/aliped with the query sequence are manually corrected. No other manual corrections are to made for the purposes of the present invention.

[0104] The above polypeptide sequences are included irrespective of whether they have their normal biological activity. This is because even where a particular polypeptide molecule does not have biological activity, one of skill in the art would still know how to use the polypeptide, for instance, as a vaccine or to generate antibodies. Other uses of the polypeptides of the present invention that do not have CaHK-1 activity include, inter alia, as epitope tags, in epitope mapping, and as molecular weight markers on SDS-PAGE gels or on molecular sieve gel filtration columns using methods known to those of skill in the art.

[0105] As described below, the polypeptides of the present invention can also be used to raise polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, which are useful in assays for detecting C. albicans or CaHK-1 protein expression, or as agonists and antagonists capable of enhancing or inhibiting CaHK-1 protein function. Further, such polypeptides can be used in the yeast two-hybrid system to “capture” CaHK-1 protein binding proteins which are also candidate agonists and antagonists according to the present invention. See, e.g., Fields et al. (1989) Nature 340:245-246.

Epitope-Bearing Portions

[0106] In another aspect, the invention provides peptides and polypeptides comprising epitope-bearing portions of the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention. These epitopes are immunogenic or antigenic epitopes of the polypeptides of the present invention. An “immunogenic epitope” is defined as a part of a protein that elicits an antibody response when the whole protein or polypeptide is the immunogen. On the other hand, a region of a protein molecule to which an antibody can bind is defined as an “antigenic determinant” or “antigenic epitope.” The number of immunogenic epitopes of a protein generally is less than the number of antigenic epitopes. See, e.g., Geysen, et al. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:3998- 4002. Predicted residues comprising antigenic epitopes are shown in Table 1, below. It is pointed out that Table 1 only lists amino acid residues comprising epitopes predicted to have the highest degree of antigenicity. The polypeptides not listed in Table 1 and portions of polypeptides not listed in Table 1 are not considered non-antigenic. This is because they may still be antigenic in vivo but merely not recognized as such by the particular algorithm used. Thus, Table 1 lists the amino acid residues comprising preferred antigenic epitopes but not a complete list. Amino acid residues comprising other anigenic epitopes may be determined by algorithms similar to the Jameson-Wolf analysis or by in vivo testing for an antigenic response using the methods described herein or those known in the art.

1TABLE 1Residues Comprising Antigenic Epitope-Bearing Portions of CaHK-1From about Thr-148 to about Lys-152, from about Arg-192 to about Asn-195,from about Thr-364 to about Lys-367, from about Asp-375 to about Tyr-378,from about Glu-403 to about Ser-408, from about Arg-528 to about Lys-530,from about Arg-624 to about Thr-626, from about Asn-705 to about Asn-709,from about Gly-721 to about Gly-723, from about Asn-959 to about Lys-962,from about Pro-976 to about Asn-978, from about Lys-1351 to about Arg-1354,from about Gly-1373 to about Asp-1375, from about Pro-1778 to aboutAsn-1730from about Asp-1805 to about Gln-1807, from about Asp-1921 to aboutLys-1923,from about Asp-2139 to about Arg-2141.

[0107] As to the selection of peptides or polypeptides bearing an antigenic epitope (i.e., that contain a region of a protein molecule to which an antibody can bind), it is well known in that art that relatively short synthetic peptides that mimic part of a protein sequence are routinely capable of eliciting an antiserum that reacts with the partially mimicked protein. See, e.g., Sutcliffe, et al., (1983) Science 219:660-666. Peptides capable of eliciting protein-reactive sera are frequently represented in the primary sequence of a protein, can be characterized by a set of simple chemical rules, and are confined neither to immunodominant regions of intact proteins (i.e., immunogenic epitopes) nor to the amino or carboxyl terminals. Peptides that are extremely hydrophobic and those of six or fewer residues generally are ineffective at inducing antibodies that bind to the mimicked protein; longer, peptides, especially those containing proline residues, usually are effective. See, Sutcliffe, et al., supra, p. 661. For instance, 18 of 20 peptides designed according to these guidelines, containing 8-39 residues covering 75% of the sequence of the influenza virus hemagglutinin HA1 polypeptide chain, induced antibodies that reacted with the HA1 protein or intact virus; and 12/12 peptides from the MuLV polymerase and 18/18 from the rabies glycoprotein induced antibodies that precipitated the respective proteins.

[0108] Antigenic epitope-bearing peptides and polypeptides of the invention are therefore useful to raise antibodies, including monoclonal antibodies, that bind specifically to a polypeptide of the invention. Thus, a high proportion of hybridomas obtained by fusion of spleen cells from donors immunized with an antigen epitope-bearing peptide generally secrete antibody reactive with the native protein. See Sutcliffe, et al., supra, p. 663. The antibodies raised by antigenic epitope-bearing peptides or polypeptides are useful to detect the mimicked protein, and antibodies to different peptides may be used for tracking the fate of various regions of a protein precursor which undergoes post-translational processing. The peptides and anti-peptide antibodies may be used in a variety of qualitative or quantitative assays for the mimicked protein, for instance in competition assays since it has been shown that even short peptides (e.g., about 9 amino acids) can bind and displace the larger peptides in immunoprecipitation assays. See, e.g., Wilson, et al., (1984) Cell 37:767-778. The anti-peptide antibodies of the invention also are useful for purification of the mimicked protein, for instance, by adsorption chromatography using methods known in the art.

[0109] Antigenic epitope-bearing peptides and polypeptides of the invention designed according to the above guidelines preferably contain a sequence of at least seven, more preferably at least nine and most preferably between about 10 to about 50 amino acids (i.e. any integer between 7 and 50) contained within the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of the invention. However, peptides or polypeptides comprising a larger portion of an amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of the invention, containing about 50 to about 100 amino acids, or any length up to and including the entire amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of the invention, also are considered epitope-bearing peptides or polypeptides of the invention and also are useful for inducing antibodies that react with the mimicked protein. Preferably, the amino acid sequence of the epitope-bearing peptide is selected to provide substantial solubility in aqueous solvents (i.e., the sequence includes relatively hydrophilic residues and highly hydrophobic sequences are preferably avoided); and sequences containing proline residues are particularly preferred.

[0110] Non-limiting examples of antigenic polypeptides or peptides that can be used to generate an Candida-specific immune response or antibodies include portions of the amino acid sequences identified in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively). More specifically, Table 1 discloses a list of non-limiting residues that are involved in the antigenicity of the epitope-bearing fragments of the present invention. Therefore, the present inventions provides for isolated and purified antigenic epitope-bearing fragments of the polypeptides of the present invention comprising a peptide sequences of Table 1. The antigenic epitope-bearing fragments comprising a peptide sequence of Table 1 preferably contain a sequence of at least seven, more preferably at least nine and most preferably between about 10 to about 50 amino acids (i.e. any integer between 7 and 50) of a polypeptide of the present invention. That is, included in the present invention are antigenic polypeptides between the integers of 7 and 50 amino acid in length comprising one or more of the sequences of Table 1. Therefore, in most cases, the polypeptides of Table 1 make up only a portion of the antigenic epitope-bearings STET. All combinations of sequences between the integers of 7 and 50 amino acid in length comprising one or more of the sequences of Table 1 are included. The antigenic epitope-bearing fragments may be specified by either the number of contiguous amino acid residues or by specific N-terminal and C-terminal positions as described above for the polypeptide fragments of the present invention. Any number of the described antigenic epitope-bearing fragments of the present invention may also be excluded from the present invention in the same manner.

[0111] The epitope-bearing peptides and polypeptides of the invention may be produced by any conventional means for making peptides or polypeptides including recombinant means using nucleic acid molecules of the invention. For instance, an epitope-bearing amino acid sequence of the present invention may be fused to a larger polypeptide which acts as a carrier during recombinant production and purification, as well as during immunization to produce anti-peptide antibodies. Epitope-bearing peptides also may be synthesized using known methods of chemical synthesis. For instance, Houghten has described a simple method for synthesis of large numbers of peptides, such as 10-20 mg of 248 different 13 residue peptides representing single amino acid variants of a segment of the HA1 polypeptide which were prepared and characterized (by ELISA-type binding studies) in less than four weeks (Houghten, R. A. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:5131-5135 (1985)). This “Simultaneous Multiple Peptide Synthesis (SMPS)” process is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,211 to Houghten and coworkers (1986). In this procedure the individual resins for the solid-phase synthesis of various peptides are contained in separate solvent-permeable packets, enabling the optimal use of the many identical repetitive steps involved in solid-phase methods. A completely manual procedure allows 500-1000 or more syntheses to be conducted simultaneously (Houghten et al. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 82:5131-5135 at 5134.

[0112] Epitope-bearing peptides and polypeptides of the invention are used to induce antibodies according to methods well known in the art. See, e.g., Sutcliffe, et al., supra;; Wilson, et al., supra;; and Bittle, et al. (1985) J. Gen. Virol. 66:2347-2354. Generally, animals may be immunized with free peptide; however, anti-peptide antibody titer may be boosted by coupling of the peptide to a macromolecular carrier, such as keyhole limpet hemacyanin (KLH) or tetanus toxoid. For instance, peptides containing cysteine may be coupled to carrier using a linker such as m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (MBS), while other peptides may be coupled to carrier using a more general linking agent such as glutaraldehyde. Animals such as rabbits, rats and mice are immunized with either free or carrier-coupled peptides, for instance, by intraperitoneal and/or intradermal injection of emulsions containing about 100 μg peptide or carrier protein and Freund's adjuvant. Several booster injections may be needed, for instance, at intervals of about two weeks, to provide a useful titer of anti-peptide antibody which can be detected, for example, by ELISA assay using free peptide adsorbed to a solid surface. The titer of anti-peptide antibodies in serum from an immunized animal may be increased by selection of anti-peptide antibodies, for instance, by adsorption to the peptide on a solid support and elution of the selected antibodies according to methods well known in the art.

[0113] Immunogenic epitope-bearing peptides of the invention, i.e., those parts of a protein that elicit an antibody response when the whole protein is the immunogen, are identified according to methods known in the art. For instance, Geysen, et al., supra, discloses a procedure for rapid concurrent synthesis on solid supports of hundreds of peptides of sufficient purity to react in an ELISA. Interaction of synthesized peptides with antibodies is then easily detected without removing them from the support. In this manner a peptide bearing an immunogenic epitope of a desired protein may be identified routinely by one of ordinary skill in the art. For instance, the immunologically important epitope in the coat protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus was located by Geysen et al. supra with a resolution of seven amino acids by synthesis of an overlapping set of all 208 possible hexapeptides covering the entire 213 amino acid sequence of the protein. Then, a complete replacement set of peptides in which all 20 amino acids were substituted in turn at every position within the epitope were synthesized, and the particular amino acids conferring specificity for the reaction with antibody were determined. Thus, peptide analogs of the epitope-bearing peptides of the invention can be made routinely by this method. U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,781 to Geysen (1987) further describes this method of identifying a peptide bearing an immunogenic epitope of a desired protein.

[0114] Further still, U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,392, to Geysen (1990), describes a general method of detecting or determrining the sequence of monomers (amino acids or other compounds) which is a topological equivalent of the epitope (i.e., a “mimotope”) which is complementary to a particular paratope (antigen binding site) of an antibody of interest. More generally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,092, also to Geysen (1989), describes a method of detecting or determining a sequence of monomers which is a topographical equivalent of a ligand which is complementary to the ligand binding site of a particular receptor of interest. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,971 to Houghten, R. A. et al. (1996) discloses linear C1-C7-alkyl peralkylated oligopeptides and sets and libraries of such peptides, as well as methods for using such oligopeptide sets and libraries for determining the sequence of a peralkylated oligopeptide that preferentially binds to an acceptor molecule of interest. Thus, non-peptide analogs of the epitope-bearing peptides of the invention also can be made routinely by these methods. The entire disclosure of each document cited in this section on “Polypeptides and Fragments” is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0115] As one of skill in the art will appreciate, the polypeptides of the present invention and the epitope-bearing fragments thereof described above can be combined with parts of the constant domain of immunoglobulins (IgG), resulting in chimeric polypeptides. These fusion proteins facilitate purification and show an increased half-life in vivo. This has been shown, e.g., for chimeric proteins consisting of the first two domains of the human CD4-polypeptide and various domains of the constant regions of the heavy or light chains of mammalian immunoglobulins. (EPA 0,394,827; Traunecker et al. (1988) Nature 331:84-86. Fusion proteins that have a disulfide-linked dimeric structure due to the IgG part can also be more efficient in binding and neutralizing other molecules than a monomeric CaHK-1 polypeptide or fragment thereof alone. See Fountoulakis et al. (1995) J. Biochem. 270:3958-3964. Nucleic acids encoding the above epitopes of CaHK-1 polypeptides can also be recombined with a gene of interest as an epitope tag to aid in detection and purification of the expressed polypeptide.

ANTIBODIES

[0116] CaHK-1 protein-specific antibodies for use in the present invention can be raised against the intact CaHK-1 polypeptide or an antigenic polypeptide fragment thereof, which may be presented together with a carrier protein, such as an albumin, to an animal system (such as rabbit or mouse) or, if it is long enough (at least about 25 amino acids), without a carrier.

[0117] As used herein, the term “antibody” (Ab) or “monoclonal antibody” (Mab) is meant to include intact molecules, single chain whole antibodies, and antibody fragments. Antibody fragments of the present invention include Fab and F(ab′)2 and other fragments including single-chain Fvs (scFv) and disulfide-linked Fvs (sdFv). Also included in the present invention are chimeric and humanized monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antibodies specific for the polypeptides of the present invention. The antibodies of the present invention may be prepared by any of a variety of methods. For example, cells expressing a polypeptide of the present invention or an antigenic fragment thereof can be administered to an animal in order to induce the production of sera containing polyclonal antibodies. For example, a preparation of a CaHK-1 polypeptide or fragment thereof is prepared and purified to render it substantially free of natural contaminants. Such a preparation is then introduced into an animal in order to produce polyclonal antisera of greater specific activity.

[0118] In a preferred method, the antibodies of the present invention are monoclonal antibodies or binding fragments thereof. Such monoclonal antibodies can be prepared using hybridoma technology. See, e.g., Harlow et al., ANTIBODIES: A LABORATORY MANUAL, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2nd ed. 1988); Hammerling, et al., in: MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AND T-CELL HYBRIDOMAS 563-681 (Elsevier, N.Y., 1981). Fab and F(ab′)2 fragments may be produced by proteolytic cleavage, using enzymes such as papain (to produce Fab fragments) or pepsin (to produce F(ab′)2 fragments). Alternatively, CaHK-1 polypeptide-binding fragments, chimeric, and humanized antibodies can be produced through the application of recombinant DNA technology or through synthetic chemistry using methods known in the art.

[0119] Alternatively, additional antibodies capable of binding to a polypeptide antigen of the present invention may be produced in a two-step procedure through the use of anti-idiotypic antibodies. Such a method makes use of the fact that antibodies are themselves antigens, and that, therefore, it is possible to obtain an antibody which binds to a second antibody. In accordance with this method, CaHK-1 polypeptide-specific antibodies are used to immunize an animal, preferably a mouse. The splenocytes of such an animal are then used to produce hybridoma cells, and the hybridoma cells are screened to identify clones which produce an antibody whose ability to bind to the CaHK-1 polypeptide-specific antibody can be blocked by the CaHK-1 polypeptide antigen. Such antibodies comprise anti-idiotypic antibodies to the CaHK-1 spolypeptide-specific antibody and can be used to immunize an animal to induce formation of further CaHK-1 polypeptide-specific antibodies.

[0120] Antibodies and fragements thereof of the present invention may be described by the portion of a polypeptide of the present invention recognized or specifically bound by the antibody. Antibody binding fragements of a polypeptide of the present invention may be described or specified in the same manner as for polypeptide fragements discussed above., i.e, by N-terminal and C-terminal positions or by size in contiguous amino acid residues. Any number of antibody binding fragments, of a polypeptide of the present invention, specified by N-terminal and C-terminal positions or by size in amino acid residues, as described above, may also be excluded from the present invention. Therefore, the present invention includes antibodies the specifically bind a particularly described fragment of a polypeptide of the present invention and allows for the exclusion of the same.

[0121] Antibodies and fragements thereof of the present invention may also be described or specified in terms of their cross-reactivity. Antibodies and fragements that do not bind polypeptides of any other species of Candida other than C. albicans are included in the present invention. Likewise, antibodies and fragements that bind only species of Candida, i.e. antibodies and fragements that do not bind yeast/fungi from any genus other than Candida, are included in the present invention.

DIAGNOSTIC ASSAYS

[0122] The present invention further relates to methods for assaying Candidal infection in an animal by detecting the expression of genes encoding polypeptides of the present invention. The methods comprise analyzing tissue or body fluid from the animal for Candida specific antibodies, nucleic acids, or proteins. Analysis of nucleic acid specific to Candida is assayed by PCR or hybridization techniques using nucleic acid sequences of the present invention as either hybridization probes or primers. See, e.g., Sambrook et al. Molecular cloning: A Laboratory Manual (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2nd ed., 1989, page 54 reference); Eremeeva et al. (1994) J. Clin. Microbiol. 32:803-810 (describing differentiation among spotted fever group Rickettsiae species by analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR-amplified DNA) and Chen et al. 1994 J. Clin. Microbiol. 32:589-595 (detecting bacterial nucleic acids via PCR).

[0123] Where diagnosis of a disease state related to infection with Candida has already been made, the present invention is useful for monitoring progression or regression of the disease state whereby patients exhibiting enhanced CaHK-1 gene expression will experience a worse clinical outcome relative to patients expressing these gene(s) at a lower level. The present invention is also useful for monitoring the progression or regression of the disease state whereby the presence of Candida is indicated either quantitatively or qualitatively by detecting CaHK-1 gene expression.

[0124] By “biological sample” is intended any biological sample obtained from an animal, cell line, tissue culture, or other source which contains Candida polypeptide, mRNA, or DNA. Biological samples include body fluids (such as saliva, blood, plasma, urine, mucus, synovial fluid, etc.) tissues (such as muscle, skin, and cartilage) and any other biological source suspected of containing CaHK-1 polypeptides or nucleic acids. Methods for obtaining biological samples such as tissue are well known in the art.

[0125] The present invention is useful for detecting diseases related to Candida infections in animals. Preferred animals include monkeys, apes, cats, dogs, birds, cows, pigs, mice, horses, rabbits and humans. Particularly preferred are humans.

[0126] Total RNA can be isolated from a biological sample using any suitable technique such as the single-step guanidinium-thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform method described in Chomczynski et al. (1987) Anal. Biochem. 162:156-159. mRNA encoding CaHK-1 polypeptides having sufficient homology to the nucleic acid sequences identified in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively) to allow for hybridization between complementary sequences are then assayed using any appropriate method. These include Northern blot analysis, S1 nuclease mapping, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription in combination with the polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and reverse transcription in combination with the ligase chain reaction (RT-LCR).

[0127] Northern blot analysis can be performed as described in Harada et al. (1990) Cell 63:303-312. Briefly, total RNA is prepared from a biological sample as described above. For the Northern blot, the RNA is denatured in an appropriate buffer (such as glyoxal/dimethyl sulfoxide/sodium phosphate buffer), subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis, and transferred onto a nitrocellulose filter. After the RNAs have been linked to the filter by a UV linker, the filter is prehybridized in a solution containing formamide, SSC, Denhardt's solution, denatured salmon sperm, SDS, and sodium phosphate buffer. A polynucleotide sequence of the present invention, labeled according to any appropriate method (such as the 32P-multiprimed DNA labeling system (Amersham)), is used as probe. After hybridization overnight, the filter is washed and exposed to x-ray film. DNA for use as probe according to the present invention is described in the sections above.

[0128] S1 mapping can be performed as described in Fujita et al. (1987) Cell 49:357-367. To prepare probe DNA for use in S1 mapping, the sense strand of an above-described CaHK-1 sequence of the present invention is used as a template to synthesize labeled antisense DNA. The antisense DNA can then be digested using an appropriate restriction endonuclease to generate further DNA probes of a desired length. Such antisense probes are useful for visualizing protected bands corresponding to the target mRNA (i.e., mRNA encoding CaHK-1 polypeptides).

[0129] Levels of mRNA encoding CaHK-1 polypeptides are assayed, for e.g., using the RT-PCR method described in Makino et al. (1990) Technique 2:295-301. By this method, the radioactivities of the “amplicons” in the polyacrylamide gel bands are linearly related to the initial concentration of the target mRNA. Briefly, this method involves adding total RNA isolated from a biological sample in a reaction mixture containing a RT primer and appropriate buffer. After incubating for primer annealing, the mixture can be supplemented with a RT buffer, dNTPs, DTT, RNase inhibitor and reverse transcriptase. After incubation to achieve reverse transcription of the RNA, the RT products are then subject to PCR using labeled primers. Alternatively, rather than labeling the primers, a labeled dNTP can be included in the PCR reaction mixture. PCR amplification can be performed in a DNA thermal cycler according to conventional techniques. After a suitable number of rounds to achieve amplification, the PCR reaction mixture is electrophoresed on a polyacrylamide gel. After drying the gel, the radioactivity of the appropriate bands (corresponding to the mRNA encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention) are quantified using an imaging analyzer. RT and PCR reaction ingredients and conditions, reagent and gel concentrations, and labeling methods are well known in the art. Variations on the RT-PCR method will be apparent to the skilled artisan. Other PCR methods that can detect the nucleic acid of the present invention can be found in PCR PRIMER: A LABORATORY MANUAL (C. W. Dieffenbach et al. eds., Cold Spring Harbor Lab Press, 1995). Also included in the present invention are methods of detecting polypeptides sequences and Candida species, including, C albican, using Real-time Quantitative PCR (see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,015) using, for example, ABI PRISM® 7700 Sequence Detection System by Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems.

[0130] The polynucleotides of the present invention, including both DNA and RNA, may be used to detect polynucleotides of the present invention or Candida species including C. albicans using bio chip technology. The present invention includes both high density chip arrays (>1000 oligonucleotides per cm2) and low density chip arrays (<1000 oligonucleotides per cm2). Bio chips comprising arrays of polynucleotides of the present invention may be used to detect the same or Candida species, including C. albicans, in biological and environmental samples and to diagnose an animal, including humans, with an C. albicans or other Candida infections. The bio chips of the present invention may comprise polynucleotide sequences of other pathogens including bacteria, viral, parasitic, and fungal polynucleotide sequences, in addition to the polynucleotide sequences of the present invention, for use in rapid diffenertial pathogenic detection and diagnosis. The bio chips can also be used to monitor an C. albicans or other Candida infections and to monitor the genetic changes (deletions, insertions, mismatches, etc.) in response to drug therapy in the clinic and drug development in the laboratory. The bio chip technology comprising arrays of polynucleotides of the present invention may also be used to simultaneously monitor the expression of a multiplicity of genes, including those of the present invention. The polynucleotides used to comprise a selected array may be specified in the same manner as for the fragements, i.e, by their 5′ and 3′ positions or length in contigious base pairs and include from. Methods and particular uses of the polynucleotides of the present invention to detect the same or Candida species, including C. albicans, using bio chip technology include those known in the art and those of: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,510,270, 5,545,531, 5,445,934, 5,677,195, 5,532,128, 5,556,752, 5,527,681, 5,451,683, 5,424,186, 5,607,646, 5,658,732 and World Patent Nos. WO/9710365, WO/9511995, WO/9743447, WO/9535505, each incorporated herein in their entireties.

[0131] Biosensors using the polynucleotides of the present invention may also be used to detect, diagnose, and monitor C. albicans or other Candida species and infections thereof. Biosensors using the polynucleotides of the present invention may also be used to detect particular polynucleotides of the present invention. Biosensors using the polynucleotides of the present invention may also be used to monitor the genetic changes (deletions, insertions, mismatches, etc.) in response to drug therapy in the clinic and drug development in the laboratory. Methods and particular uses of the polynucleotides of the present invention to detect Candida species, including C. albicans, using biosenors include those known in the art and those of: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,721,102, 5,658,732, 5,631,170, and World Patent Nos. WO97/35011, WO9720203, each incorporated herein in their entireties.

[0132] Thus, the present invention includes both bio chips and biosensors comprising polynucleotides of the present invention and methods of their use.

[0133] Assaying CaHK-1 polypeptide levels in a biological sample can occur using any art-known method, such as antibody-based techniques. For example, CaHK-1 polypeptide expression in tissues can be studied with classical immunohistological methods. In these, the specific recognition is provided by the primary antibody (polyclonal or monoclonal) but the secondary detection system can utilize fluorescent, enzyme, or other conjugated secondary antibodies. As a result, an immunohistological staining of tissue section for pathological examination is obtained. Tissues can also be extracted, e.g., with urea and neutral detergent, for the liberation of CaHK-1 polypeptides for Western-blot or dot/slot assay. See, e.g., Jalkanen, M. et al. (1985) J. Cell. Biol. 101:976-985; Jalkanen, M. et al. (1987) J. Cell. Biol. 105:3087-3096. In this technique, which is based on the use of cationic solid phases, quantitation of a CaHK-1 polypeptide can be accomplished using an isolated CaHK-1 polypeptide as a standard. This technique can also be applied to body fluids.

[0134] Other antibody-based methods useful for detecting CaHK-1 polypeptide gene expression include immunoassays, such as the ELISA and the radioimmunoassay (RIA). For example, a CaHK-1 polypeptide-specific monoclonal antibodies can be used both as an immunoabsorbent and as an enzyme-labeled probe to detect and quantify a CaHK-1 polypeptide. The amount of a CaHK-1 polypeptide present in the sample can be calculated by reference to the amount present in a standard preparation using a linear regression computer algorithm. Such an ELISA is described in Iacobelli et al. (1988) Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 11:19-30. In another ELISA assay, two distinct specific monoclonal antibodies can be used to detect CaHK-1 polypeptides in a body fluid. In this assay, one of the antibodies is used as the immunoabsorbent and the other as the enzyme-labeled probe.

[0135] The above techniques may be conducted essentially as a “one-step” or “two-step” assay. The “one-step” assay involves contacting the CaHK-1 polypeptide with immobilized antibody and, without washing, contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody. The “two-step” assay involves washing before contacting the mixture with the labeled antibody. Other conventional methods may also be employed as suitable. It is usually desirable to immobilize one component of the assay system on a support, thereby allowing other components of the system to be brought into contact with the component and readily removed from the sample. Variations of the above and other immunological methods included in the present invention can also be found in Harlow et al., ANTIBODIES: A LABORATORY MANUAL, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2nd ed. 1988).

[0136] Suitable enzyme labels include, for example, those from the oxidase group, which catalyze the production of hydrogen peroxide by reacting with substrate. Glucose oxidase is particularly preferred as it has good stability and its substrate (glucose) is readily available. Activity of an oxidase label may be assayed by measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide formed by the enzyme-labeled antibody/substrate reaction. Besides enzymes, other suitable labels include radioisotopes, such as iodine (125I, 121I), carbon (14C), sulphur (35S), tritium (3H), indium (112In), and technetium (99mTc), and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.

[0137] Further suitable labels for the CaHK-1 polypeptide-specific antibodies of the present invention are provided below. Examples of suitable enzyme labels include malate dehydrogenase, a bacterial nuclease, delta-5-steroid isomerase, yeast-alcohol dehydrogenase, alpha-glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase, peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, asparaginase, glucose oxidase, beta-galactosidase, ribonuclease, urease, catalase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucoamylase, and acetylcholine esterase.

[0138] Examples of suitable radioisotopic labels include 3H, 111In, 125I, 131I, 32P, 35S, 14C, 51Cr, 57To, 58Co, 59Fe, 75Se, 152Eu, 90Y, 67Cu, 217Ci, 211At, 212Pb, 47Sc, 109Pd, 99mTc etc. 111In is a preferred isotope where in vivo imaging is used since its avoids the problem of dehalogenation of the 125I or 131I-labeled monoclonal antibody by the liver. In addition, this radionucleotide has a more favorable gamma emission energy for imaging. See, e.g., Perkins et al. (1985) Eur. J. Nucl. Med. 10:296-301; Carasquillo et al. (1987) J. Nucl. Med. 28:281-287. For example, 111In coupled to monoclonal antibodies with 1-(P-isothiocyanatobenzyl)-DPTA has shown little uptake in non-tumors tissues, particularly the liver, and therefore enhances specificity of tumor localization. See, Esteban et al. (1987) J. Nucl. Med. 28:861-870.

[0139] Examples of suitable non-radioactive isotopic labels include 157Gd, 55Mn, 162Dy, 52Tr, and 56Fe.

[0140] Examples of suitable fluorescent labels include an 152Eu label, a fluorescein label, an isothiocyanate label, a rhodamine label, a phycoerythrin label, a phycocyanin label, an allophycocyanin label, an o-phthaldehyde label, and a fluorescamine label.

[0141] Examples of suitable toxin labels include, Pseudomonas toxin, diphtheria toxin, ricin, and cholera toxin.

[0142] Examples of chemiluminescent labels include a luminal label, an isoluminal label, an aromatic acridinium ester label, an imidazole label, an acridinium salt label, an oxalate ester label, a luciferin label, a luciferase label, and an aequorin label.

[0143] Examples of nuclear magnetic resonance contrasting agents include heavy metal nuclei such as Gd, Mn, and iron.

[0144] Typical techniques for binding the above-described labels to antibodies are provided by Kennedy et al. (1976) Clin. Chim. Acta 70: 1-31, and Schurs et al. (1977) Clin. Chim. Acta 81:1-40. Coupling techniques mentioned in the latter are the glutaraldehyde method, the periodate method, the dimaleimide method, the m-maleimidobenzyl-N-hydroxy-succinimide ester method, all of which methods are incorporated by reference herein.

[0145] In a related aspect, the invention includes a diagnostic kit for use in screening serum containing antibodies specific against C. albicans infection. Such a kit may include an isolated CaHK-1 antigen comprising an epitope which is specifically immunoreactive with at least one anti-CaHK-1 antibody. Such a kit also includes means for detecting the binding of said antibody to the antigen. In specific embodiments, the kit may include a recombinantly produced or chemically synthesized peptide or polypeptide antigen. The peptide or polypeptide antigen may be attached to a solid support.

[0146] In a more specific embodiment, the detecting means of the above-described kit includes a solid support to which said peptide or polypeptide antigen is attached. Such a kit may also include a non-attached reporter-labeled anti-human antibody. In this embodiment, binding of the antibody to the CaHK-1 antigen can be detected by binding of the reporter labeled antibody to the anti-CaHK-1 polypeptide antibody.

[0147] In a related aspect, the invention includes a method of detecting C. albicans infection in a subject. This detection method includes reacting a body fluid, preferably serum, from the subject with an isolated CaHK-1 antigen, and examining the antigen for the presence of bound antibody. In a specific embodiment, the method includes a polypeptide antigen attached to a solid support, and serum is reacted with the support. Subsequently, the support is reacted with a reporter-labeled anti-human antibody. The support is then examined for the presence of reporter-labeled antibody.

[0148] The solid surface reagent employed in the above assays and kits is prepared by known techniques for attaching protein material to solid support material, such as polymeric beads, dip sticks, 96-well plates or filter material. These attachment methods generally include non-specific adsorption of the protein to the support or covalent attachment of the protein, typically through a free amine group, to a chemically reactive group on the solid support, such as an activated carboxyl, hydroxyl, or aldehyde group. Alternatively, streptavidin coated plates can be used in conjunction with biotinylated antigen(s).

[0149] The polypeptides and antibodies of the present invention, including fragments thereof, may be used to detect Candida species including C. albicans using bio chip and biosensor technology. Bio chip and biosensors of the present invention may comprise the polypeptides of the present invention to detect antibodies, which specifically recognize Candida species, including C. albicans. Bio chip and biosensors of the present invention may also comprise antibodies which specifically recognize the polypeptides of the present invention to detect Candida species, including C. albicans or specific polypeptides of the present invention. Bio chips or biosensors comprising polypeptides or antibodies of the present invention may be used to detect Candida species, including C. albicans, in biological and environmental samples and to diagnose an animal, including humans, with an C. albicans or other Candida infection. Thus, the present invention includes both bio chips and biosensors comprising polypeptides or antibodies of the present invention and methods of their use.

[0150] The bio chips of the present invention may further comprise polypeptide sequences of other pathogens including bacteria, viral, parasitic, and fungal polypeptide sequences, in addition to the polypeptide sequences of the present invention, for use in rapid diffenertial pathogenic detection and diagnosis. The bio chips of the present invention may further comprise antibodies or fragements thereof specific for other pathogens including bacteria, viral, parasitic, and fungal polypeptide sequences, in addition to the antibodies or fragements thereof of the present invention, for use in rapid diffenertial pathogenic detection and diagnosis. The bio chips and biosensors of the present invention may also be used to monitor an C. albicans or other Candida infection and to monitor the genetic changes (amio acid deletions, insertions, substitutions, etc.) in response to drug therapy in the clinic and drug development in the laboratory. The bio chip and biosensors comprising polypeptides or antibodies of the present invention may also be used to simultaneously monitor the expression of a multiplicity of polypeptides, including those of the present invention. The polypeptides used to comprise a bio chip or biosensor of the present invention may be specified in the same manner as for the fragements, i.e, by their N-terminal and C-terminal positions or length in contigious amino acid residue. Methods and particular uses of the polypeptides and antibodies of the present invention to detect Candida species, including C. albicans, or specific polypeptides using bio chip and biosensor technology include those known in the art, those of the U.S. Pat. Nos. and World Patent Nos. listed above for bio chips and biosensors using polynucleotides of the present invention, and those of: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,658,732, 5,135,852, 5,567,301, 5,677,196, 5,690,894 and World Patent Nos. WO9729366, WO9612957, each incorporated herein in their entireties.

TREATMENT

Agonists and Antagonists-Assays and Molecules

[0151] The present invention also provides a screening method for identifying compounds capable of enhancing or inhibiting (preferably inhibiting) a biological activity of the CaHK-1 polypeptide, which involves contacting a candidate compound with a CaHK-1 polypeptide in the presence of an phosphate acceptor polypeptide, assaying the activity of a CaHK-1 polypeptide in the presence of the candidate compound and acceptor polypeptide, and comparing the CaHK-1 activity to a standard level of activity, the standard being assayed when contact is made between a CaHK-1 polypeptide and the acceptor polypeptide in the absence of the candidate compound. Examples of screening assays well known in the art are described in Huang J. et al. 1992 J. Biol. Chem. 267(22):15511-15515. In this assay, an increase in CaHK-1 activity over the standard indicates that the candidate compound is an agonist of CaHK-1 activity and a decrease in CaHK-1 activity compared to the standard indicates that the compound is an antagonist of CaHK-1 activity. Other examples of methods that may be modified and used to test compounds that target CaHK-1 and inhibit the growth or virulence of C. albicans include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,747, U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,276 WO 97/37230, and WO 95/06132.

[0152] An agonist is a compound which increases the natural biological function or which functions in a manner similar to the polypeptides of the present invention, while antagonists decrease or eliminate such functions. Potential antagonists include small organic molecules, peptides, polypeptides, and antibodies that bind to a polypeptide of the invention and thereby inhibit or extinguish its activity. Possible antagonists include, but are not limited to, isoflavones such as genistein. Other possible antagonists include the molecules disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,950.

[0153] The antagonists may be employed for instance to inhibit histidine kinase activity. Antibodies against CaHK-1 may be employed to bind to and inhibit CaHK-1 activity to treat C. albicans. Possible methods of using antagonists include, but are not limited to, treating oral candidosis, including oral candidosis associated with HIV infection. The term treatment includes eliminating, reducing, controlling, and slowing the progress of oral candidosis. The term treatment comprises any clinically useful result either alone or in combinations with other drugs. Any of the above antagonists may be employed in a composition with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The antagonists could be administered parenterally or by oral adminstration. Adminstration may include topical administration. Doses of antagonists would include those normally used by those skilled in the art for the route of adminstration and particular drug used. Doses can also be determined from extrapolating in vitro and in vivo assays in animal models. Extrapolations may be aided by data from similar drugs.

Vaccines

[0154] The present invention also provides vaccines comprising one or more polypeptides of the present invention. Heterogeneity in the composition of a vaccine may be provided by combining CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention. Multi-component vaccines of this type are desirable because they are likely to be more effective in eliciting protective immune responses against multiple species and strains of the Candida genus than single polypeptide vaccines. Thus, as discussed in detail below, a multi-component vaccine of the present invention may contain one or more, preferably 2 to about 20, more preferably 2 to about 15, and most preferably 3 to about 8, of the CaHK-1 polypeptides shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively), or fragments thereof.

[0155] Multi-component vaccines are known in the art to elicit antibody production to numerous immunogenic components. Decker, M. and Edwards, K., J. Infect. Dis. 174:S270-275 (1996). In addition, a hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis tetravalent vaccine has recently been demonstrated to elicit protective levels of antibodies in human infants against all four pathogenic agents. Aristegui, J. et al., Vaccine 15:7-9 (1997).

[0156] The present invention thus also includes multi-component vaccines. These vaccines comprise more than one polypeptide, immunogen or antigen. An example of such a multi-component vaccine would be a vaccine comprising more than one of the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention or at least one of CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention in combination with other heterologous polypeptides of either Candidal or non-Candidal origin. Thus, a multi-component vaccine which confers protective immunity to both a Candidal infection and infection by another pathogenic agent is also within the scope of the invention.

[0157] Further within the scope of the invention are whole cell and whole viral vaccines. Such vaccines may be produced recombinantly and involve the expression of one or more of the CaHK-1 polypeptides shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 4 respectively). For example, the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention may be either secreted or localized intracellular, on the cell surface, or in the periplasmic space. Further, when a recombinant virus is used, the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention may, for example, be localized in the viral envelope, on the surface of the capsid, or internally within the capsid. Whole cells vaccines which employ cells expressing heterologous proteins are known in the art. See, e.g., Robinson, K. et al., Nature Biotech. 15:653-657 (1997); Sirard, J. et al., Infect. Immun. 65:2029-2033 (1997); Chabalgoity, J. et al., Infect. Amman. 65:2402-2412 (1997). These cells may be administered live or may be killed prior to administration. Chabalgoity, J. et al., supra, for example, report the successful use in mice of a live attenuated Salmonella vaccine strain which expresses a portion of a platyhelminth fatty acid-binding protein as a fusion protein on its cells surface.

[0158] A multi-component vaccine can also be prepared using techniques known in the art by combining one or more CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention, or fragments thereof, with additional non-Candidal components (e.g., diphtheria toxin or tetanus toxin, and/or other compounds known to elicit an immune response). Such vaccines are useful for eliciting protective immune responses to both members of the Candida genus and non-Candidal pathogenic agents.

[0159] The vaccines of the present invention also include DNA vaccines. DNA vaccines are currently being developed for a number of infectious diseases. Boyer, J et al., Nat. Med. 3:526-532 (1997); reviewed in Spier, R., Vaccine 14:1285-1288 (1996). Such DNA vaccines contain a nucleotide sequence encoding one or more CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention oriented in a manner that allows for expression of the subject polypeptide.

[0160] The present invention also relates to the administration of a vaccine which is co-administered with a molecule capable of modulating immune responses. Kim, J. et al., Nature Biotech. 15:641-646 (1997), for example, report the enhancement of immune responses produced by DNA immunizations when DNA sequences encoding molecules which stimulate the immune response are co-administered. In a similar fashion, the vaccines of the present invention may be co-administered with either nucleic acids encoding immune modulators or the immune modulators themselves. These immune modulators include granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and CD86.

[0161] The vaccines of the present invention may be used to confer resistance to Candidal infection by either passive or active immunization. When the vaccines of the present invention are used to confer resistance to Candidal infection through active immunization, a vaccine of the present invention is administered to an animal to elicit a protective immune response which either prevents or attenuates a Candidal infection. When the vaccines of the present invention are used to confer resistance to Candidal infection through passive immunization, the vaccine is provided to a host animal (e.g., human, dog, or mouse), and the antisera elicited by this antisera is recovered and directly provided to a recipient suspected of having an infection caused by a member of the Candida genus.

[0162] The ability to label antibodies, or fragments of antibodies, with toxin molecules provides an additional method for treating Candidal infections when passive immunization is conducted. In this embodiment, antibodies, or fragments of antibodies, capable of recogniing the CaHK-1 polypeptides disclosed herein, or fragments thereof, as well as other Candida proteins, are labeled with toxin molecules prior to their administration to the patient. When such toxin derivatized antibodies bind to Candida cells, toxin moieties will be localized to these cells and will cause their death.

[0163] The present invention thus concerns and provides a means for preventing or attenuating a Candidal infection resulting from organisms which have antigens that are recognized and bound by antisera produced in response to the polypeptides of the present invention. As used herein, a vaccine is said to prevent or attenuate a disease if its administration to an animal results either in the total or partial attenuation (i.e., suppression) of a symptom or condition of the disease, or in the total or partial immunity of the animal to the disease.

[0164] The administration of the vaccine (or the antisera which it elicits) may be for either a “prophylatic” or “therapeutic” purpose. When provided prophylactically, the compound(s) are provided in advance of any symptoms of Candidal infection. The prophylactic administration of the compound(s) serves to prevent or attenuate any subsequent infection. When provided therapeutically, the compound(s) is provided upon or after the detection of symptoms which indicate that an animal may be infected with a member of the Candida genus. The therapeutic administration of the compound(s) serves to attenuate any actual infection. Thus, the CaHK-1 polypeptides, and fragments thereof, of the present invention may be provided either prior to the onset of infection (so as to prevent or attenuate an anticipated infection) or after the initiation of an actual infection.

[0165] The polypeptides of the invention, whether encoding a portion of a native protein or a functional derivative thereof, may be administered in pure form or may be coupled to a macromolecular carrier. Example of such carriers are proteins and carbohydrates. Suitable proteins which may act as macromolecular carrier for enhancing the immunogenicity of the polypeptides of the present invention include keyhole limpet hemacyanin (KLH) tetanus toxoid, pertussis toxin, bovine serum albumin, and ovalbumin. Methods for coupling the polypeptides of the present invention to such macromolecular carriers are disclosed in Harlow et al., Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed.; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1988), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0166] A composition is said to be “pharmacologically acceptable” if its administration can be tolerated by a recipient animal and is otherwise suitable for administration to that animal. Such an agent is said to be administered in a “therapeutically effective amount” if the amount administered is physiologically significant. An agent is physiologically significant if its presence results in a detectable change in the physiology of a recipient patient.

[0167] While in all instances the vaccine of the present invention is administered as a pharmacologically acceptable compound, one skilled in the art would recognize that the composition of a pharmacologically acceptable compound varies with the animal to which it is administered. For example, a vaccine intended for human use will generally not be co-administered with Freund's adjuvant. Further, the level of purity of the CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention will normally be higher when administered to a human than when administered to a non-human animal.

[0168] As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, when the vaccine of the present invention is provided to an animal, it may be in a composition which may contain salts, buffers, adjuvants, or other substances which are desirable for improving the efficacy of the composition. Adjuvants are substances that can be used to specifically augment a specific immune response. These substances generally perform two functions: (1) they protect the antigen(s) from being rapidly catabolized after administration and (2) they nonspecifically stimulate immune responses.

[0169] Normally, the adjuvant and the composition are mixed prior to presentation to the immune system, or presented separately, but into the same site of the animal being immunized. Adjuvants can be loosely divided into several groups based upon their composition. These groups include oil adjuvants (for example, Freund's complete and incomplete), mineral salts (for example, AlK(SO4)2, AlNa(SO4)2, AlNH4(SO4), silica, kaolin, and carbon), polynucleotides (for example, poly IC and poly AU acids), and certain natural substances (for example, wax D from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as substances found in Coryne bacterium parvum, or Bordetella pertussis, and members of the genus Brucella. Other substances useful as adjuvants are the saponins such as, for example, Quil A. (Superfos A/S, Denmark). Preferred adjuvants for use in the present invention include aluminum salts, such as AlK(SO4)2, AlNa(SO4)2, and AlNH4(SO4). Examples of materials suitable for use in vaccine compositions are provided in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (Osol, A, Ed, Mack Publishing Co, Easton, Pa., pp. 1324-1341 (1980), which reference is incorporated herein by reference).

[0170] The therapeutic compositions of the present invention can be administered parenterally by injection, rapid infusion, nasopharyngeal absorption (intranasopharangeally), dermoabsorption, or orally. The compositions may alternatively be administered intramuscularly, or intravenously. Compositions for parenteral administration include sterile aqueous or non-aqueous solutions, suspensions, and emulsions. Examples of non-aqueous solvents are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils such as olive oil, and injectable organic esters such as ethyl oleate. Carriers or occlusive dressings can be used to increase skin permeability and enhance antigen absorption. Liquid dosage forms for oral administration may generally comprise a liposome solution containing the liquid dosage form. Suitable forms for suspending liposomes include emulsions, suspensions, solutions, syrups, and elixirs containing inert diluents commonly used in the art, such as purified water. Besides the inert diluents, such compositions can also include adjuvants, wetting agents, emulsifying and suspending agents, or sweetening, flavoring, or perfuming agents.

[0171] Therapeutic compositions of the present invention can also be administered in encapsulated form. For example, intranasal immunization of mice against Bordetella pertussis infection using vaccines encapsulated in biodegradable microsphere composed of poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) has been shown to stimulate protective immune responses. Shahin, R. et al., Infect. Immun. 63:1195-1200 (1995). Similarly, orally administered encapsulated Salmonella typhimurium antigens have also been shown to elicit protective immunity in mice. Allaoui-Attarki, K. et al., Infect. Immun. 65:853-857 (1997). Encapsulated vaccines of the present invention can be administered by a variety of routes including those involving contacting the vaccine with mucous membranes (e.g., intranasally, intracolonicly, intraduodenally).

[0172] Many different techniques exist for the timing of the immunizations when a multiple administration regimen is utilized. It is possible to use the compositions of the invention more than once to increase the levels and diversities of expression of the immunoglobulin repertoire expressed by the immunized animal. Typically, if multiple immunizations are given, they will be given one to two months apart.

[0173] According to the present invention, an “effective amount” of a therapeutic composition is one which is sufficient to achieve a desired biological effect. Generally, the dosage needed to provide an effective amount of the composition will vary depending upon such factors as the animal's or human's age, condition, sex, and extent of disease, if any, and other variables which can be adjusted by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0174] The antigenic preparations of the invention can be administered by either single or multiple dosages of an effective amount. Effective amounts of the compositions of the invention can vary from 0.01-1,000 μg/ml per dose, more preferably 0.1-500 μg/ml per dose, and most preferably 10-300 μg/ml per dose.

EXAMPLES

Strains And Growth Media

[0175]

Candida albicans
(strain SC5314) was grown in YEPD complex medium (1% yeast extract (Gibco-BRL); 2% peptone (Gibco-BRL) and 2% glucose), at 30° C. shaking at 250 rpm for 14 hours. Cells were harvested from liquid medium by centrifugation at 4000×g for 10 minutes at 4° C. For RNA isolation, the same strain was grown in YNB for 3.5 h at 30° C. [0.67% YNB (Gibco-BRL) and 2% glucose], inculated with 107 cells/ml from an overnight culture in YNB.

[0176]

E. coli
strain LE392 was used for propagation of bacteriophage AEMBL3. All plasmid subcloning studies were performed in E. coli strain DH5α.

DNA Manipulations

[0177] Plasmid DNA was extracted from E. coli DH5α cells according to the manufacturer's instructions (Plasmid Midi Kit, Qiagen). Restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase were obtained from Gibco-BRL and used with buffers provided by the supplier under the recommended conditions. Agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA was performed according to standard protocols (Sambrook et al., Molecular cloning: a Laboratory Manual. 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989)). Construction of recombinant plasmids and selection of transformants were done by standard techniques (Sambrook et al., supra). Sequencing was carried out by the dideoxy chain termination method on an automatic sequencer (373A DNA sequencer, Applied Biosystems).

cDNA Library

[0178] The cDNA library was prepared from yeast-phase cells of C. albicans (ATCC strain 24433) grown at 37° C. on YPD agar plates for 14 hours. Cells were harvested in sterile water and total nucleic acid was prepared as described by Choi and Nuss, “A viral gene confers hypovirulence-associated traits to the chestnut blight fungus” EMBO J. 11, 473-477 (1992)). RNA was isolated by precipitation with LiCl at 2 M for 4 hours on ice followed by centrifugation at 10,000×g for 10 minutes at 4° C. Poly-A+mRNA was purified using Oligotex-dT (Qiagen) and a cDNA library was constructed in the pSPORT1 vector using the SuperScript plasmid system for cDNA synthesis and plasmid cloning (Gibco-BRL). A 1.0 kb NotI-SalI partial cDNA with homology to the 3′ end of the histidine kinase gene of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis was obtained by random sequencing. The fragment was digoxigenin-labelled by non-radioactive random priming (DIG DNA Labeling Kit, Boehringer Mannheim, Germany) and used as probe to isolate the full-length clone from a λEMBL3 C. albicans genomic library.

Southern Blot Experiments

[0179] Genomic DNA and total RNA from C. albicans were obtained according to the method described by Sherman et al. (1986). Four micrograms of DNA and 10 μg of RNA per lane were typically loaded for Southern and Northern, respectively. The DNA and RNA was transferred by capillarity to positively-charged nylon membranes (Amersham) by standard protocols (Sambrook et al., supra) and hybridized with the 1.0 kb NotI-SalI fragment described above (see section 2.3). The probe was labeled by non-radioactive random priming (DIG DNA Labeling Kit, Boehringer Mannheim) and detected according to the manufacturer's recommendation (DIG Nucleic Acid Detection Kit, Boehringer Mannheim).

Screening of the λEMBL3 Candida Albicans Genomic Library

[0180] λEMBL3 Candida albicans genomic library was screened by a standard protocol (Sambrook et al., supra), using the same probe that was used for Southern experiments. DNA samples were obtained from positive clones according to the manufacturer's instructions (Lambda Mini Kit, Qiagen). All DNAs were analyzed by BglII digestion and Southern blot hybridization as described above.

Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Analysis

[0181] Removal of chromosal DNA contaminatino in total RNA was done by treatment of total RNA with Tnase-free DNAaseI (Amplification Grade, Gibco-BRL) for 15 min at room temperature in the buffer supplied with the enzyme. RT-PCR was carried out according to the protocols supplied with the reverse transcriptase (SuperScript II Rnase H- Reverse Transcriptase, Gibco-BRL) and the Taq DNA polymerase (Gibco-BRL), respectively. The primers used in the amplification were: p1 (5′-CCACTCATTAAGAAAACGCG-3′) (SEQ ID NO: 5), p2 (5′-CAGTATCTCTCACCTAACGTACAGACC-3′) (SEQ ID NO: 6), and p3 (5′-CGGTTTTTGTGTTAGAAATAGCC-3′) (SEQ ID NO: 7), at 50° C. as the annealing temperature for 35 cycles in a thermal cycler (HYBAID™, OmniGene).

Homology Searches, Sequence Analysis and Multiple Alignments

[0182] Homology searches were performed using the BLAST network service. The computer analysis of the completed sequence as well as the predicted protein sequence were performed using the GCG software package (University of Wisconsin).

Isolation of a Selected CaHK-1 DNA Clone from C. albicans

[0183] Three approaches, in addition to the one discussed above, may be used to isolate a C. albicans clone comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention from any C. albicans genomic DNA library. A wide varity of C. albicans strains, including C. albicans (ATCC strain 24433), can be used to obtain the polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention.

[0184] In the first method, a plasmid is directly isolated by screening a plasmid C. albicans genomnic DNA library using a polynucleotide probe corresponding to a polynucleotide of the present invention. Particularly, a specific polynucleotide with 30-40 nucleotides is synthesized using an Applied Biosystems DNA synthesizer according to the sequence reported. The oligonucleotide is labeled, for instance, with 32P-γ-ATP using T4 polynucleotide kinase and purified according to routine methods. (See, e.g., Maniatis et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Cold Spring, N.Y. (1982).) The library is transformed into a suitable host, as indicated above (such as XL-1 Blue (Stratagene)) using techniques known to those of skill in the art. See, e.g., Sambrook et al. MOLECULAR CLONING: A LABORATORY MANUAL (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 2nd ed. 1989); Ausubel et al., CURRENT PROTOCALS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (John Wiley and Sons, N.Y. 1989). The transformants are plated on 1.5% agar plates (containing the appropriate selection agent, e.g., ampicillin) to a density of about 150 transformants (colonies) per plate. These plates are screened using Nylon membranes according to routine methods for bacterial colony screening. See, e.g., Sambrook et al. MOLECULAR CLONING: A LABORATORY MANUAL (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 2nd ed. 1989); Ausubel et al., CURRENT PROTOCALS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (John Wiley and Sons, N.Y. 1989) or other techniques known to those of skill in the art.

[0185] Alternatively, two primers of 15-25 nucleotides derived from the 5′ and 3′ ends of a polynucleotide of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respetively) are synthesized and used to amplify the desired DNA by PCR using a C. albicans genomic DNA prep as a template. PCR is carried out under routine conditions, for instance, in 25 μl of reaction mixture with 0.5 ug of the above DNA template. A convenient reaction mixture is 1.5-5 mM MgCl2, 0.01% (w/v) gelatin, 20 μM each of dATP, dCTP, dGTP, dTTP, 25 pmol of each primer and 0.25 Unit of Taq polymerase. Thirty five cycles of PCR (denaturation at 94° C. for 1 min; annealing at 55° C. for 1 min; elongation at 72° C. for 1 min) are performed with a Perkin-Elmer Cetus automated thermal cycler. The amplified product is analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and the DNA band with expected molecular weight is excised and purified. The PCR product is verified to be the selected sequence by subcloning and sequencing the DNA product.

[0186] Finally, overlapping oligos of the DNA sequences of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respetively) can be chemically synthesized and used to generate a nucleotide sequence of desired length using PCR methods known in the art.

Expression and Purification CaHK-1 Polypeptides in E. coli

[0187] The bacterial expression vector pQE60 is used for bacterial expression of the polypeptide fragements of the present invention. (QIAGEN, Inc., 9259 Eton Avenue, Chatsworth, Cal., 91311). pQE60 encodes ampicillin antibiotic resistance (“Ampr”) and contains a bacterial origin of replication (“ori”), an IPTG inducible promoter, a ribosome binding site (“RBS”), six codons encoding histidine residues that allow affinity purification using nickel-nitrilo-tri-acetic acid (“Ni-NTA”) affinity resin (QIAGEN, Inc., supra) and suitable single restriction enzyme cleavage sites. These elements are arranged such that an inserted DNA fragment encoding a polypeptide expresses that polypeptide with the six His residues (i.e., a “6 X His tag”) covalendy linked to the carboxyl terminus of that polypeptide.

[0188] The DNA sequence encoding the desired portion of a CaHK-1 protein of the present invention is amplified from C. albicans genomic DNA using PCR oligonucleotide primers which anneal to the 5′ and 3′ sequences coding for the portions of the CaHK-1 polynucleotide shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). Additional nucleotides containing restriction sites to facilitate cloning in the pQE60 vector are added to the 5′ and 3′ sequences, respectively.

[0189] For cloning the mature protein, the 5′ primer has a sequence containing an appropriate restriction site followed by nucleotides of the amino terminal coding sequence of the desireda CaHK-1 polynucleotide sequence in FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively). One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the point in the protein coding sequence where the 5′ and 3′ primers begin may be varied to amplify a DNA seament encoding any desired portion of the complete protein shorter or longer than the mature form. The 3′ primer has a sequence containing an appropriate restriction site followed by nucleotides complementary to the 3′ end of the polypeptide coding sequence of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively), excluding a stop codon, with the coding sequence aligned with the restriction site so as to maintain its reading frame with that of the six His codons in the pQE60 vector.

[0190] The amplified CaHK-1 DNA fragment and the vector pQE60 are digested with restriction enzymes which recognize the sites in the primers and the digested DNAs are then ligated together. The CaHK-1 DNA is inserted into the restricted pQE60 vector in a manner which places the CaHK-1 protein coding region downstream from the IPTG-inducible promoter and in-frame with an initiating AUG and the six histidine codons.

[0191] The ligation mixture is transformed into competent E. coli cells using standard procedures such as those described by Sambrook et al., supra.. E. coli strain M15/rep4, containing multiple copies of the plasmid pREP4, which expresses the lac repressor and confers kanamycin resistance (“Kanr”), is used in carrying out the illustrative example described herein. This strain, which is only one of many that are suitable for expressing a CaHK-1 polypeptide, is available commercially (QIAGEN, Inc., supra). Transformants are identified by their ability to grow on LB agar plates in the presence of ampicillin and kanamycin. Plasmid DNA is isolated from resistant colonies and the identity of the cloned DNA confirmed by restriction analysis, PCR and DNA sequencing.

[0192] Clones containing the desired constructs are grown overnight (“O/N”) in liquid culture in LB media supplemented with both ampicillin (100 μg/ml) and kanamycin (25 μg/ml). The O/N culture is used to inoculate a large culture, at a dilution of approximately 1:25 to 1:250. The cells are grown to an optical density at 600 nm (“OD600”) of between 0.4 and 0.6. Isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (“IPTG”) is then added to a final concentration of 1 mM to induce transcription from the lac repressor sensitive promoter, by inactivating the lacI repressor. Cells subsequently are incubated further for 3 to 4 hours. Cells then are harvested by centrifugation.

[0193] The cells are then stirred for 3-4 hours at 4° C. in 6M guanidine-HCl, pH 8. The cell debris is removed by centrifugation, and the supernatant containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide is loaded onto a nickel-nitrilo-tri-acetic acid (“Ni-NTA”) affinity resin column (QIAGEN, Inc., supra). Proteins with a 6 x His tag bind to the Ni-NTA resin with high affinity are purified in a simple one-step procedure (for details see: The QIAexpressionist, 1995, QIAGEN, Inc., supra). Briefly the supernatant is loaded onto the column in 6 M guanidine-HCl, pH 8, the column is first washed with 10 volumes of 6 M guanidine-HCl, pH 8, then washed with 10 volumes of 6 M guanidine-HCl pH 6, and finally the CaHK-1 polypeptide is eluted with 6 M guanidine-HCl, pH 5.

[0194] The purified protein is then renatured by dialyzing it against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or 50 mM Na-acetate, pH 6 buffer plus 200 mM NaCl. Alternatively, the protein could be successfully refolded while immobilized on the Ni-NTA column. The recommended conditions are as follows: renature using a linear 6M-1M urea gradient in 500 mM NaCl, 20% glycerol, 20 mM Tris/HCl pH 7.4, containing protease inhibitors. The renaturation should be performed over a period of 1.5 hours or more. After renaturation the proteins can be eluted by the addition of 250 mM immidazole. Immidazole is removed by a final dialyzing step against PBS or 50 mM sodium acetate pH 6 buffer plus 200 mM NaCl. The purified protein is stored at 4° C. or frozen at −80° C.

[0195] The polypeptides of the present invention are also prepared using a non-denaturing protein purification method. For these polypeptides, the cell pellet from each liter of culture is resuspended in 25 mls of Lysis Buffer A at 4° C. (Lysis Buffer A=50 mM Na-phosphate, 300 mM NaCl, 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, 10% Glycerol, pH 7.5 with 1 tablet of Complete EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail (Boehringer Mannheim #1873580) per 50 ml of buffer). Absorbance at 550 nm is approximately 10-20 O.D./ml. The suspension is then put through three freeze/thaw cycles from −70° C. (using a ethanol-dry ice bath) up to room temperature. The cells are lysed via sonication in short 10 sec bursts over 3 minutes at approximately 80W while kept on ice. The sonicated sample is then centrifuged at 15,000 RPM for 30 minutes at 4° C. The supernatant is passed through a column containing 1.0 ml of CL-4B resin to pre-clear the sample of any proteins that may bind to agarose non-specifically, and the flow-through fraction is collected.

[0196] The pre-cleared flow-through is applied to a nickel-nitrilo-tri-acetic acid (“Ni-NTA”) affinity resin column (Quiagen, Inc., supra). Proteins with a 6 X His tag bind to the Ni-NTA resin with high affinity and can be purified in a simple one-step procedure. Briefly, the supernatant is loaded onto the column in Lysis Buffer A at 4° C., the column is first washed with 10 volumes of Lysis Buffer A until the A280 of the eluate returns to the baseline. Then, the column is washed with 5 volumes of 40 mM Imidazole (92% Lysis Buffer A/8% Buffer B) (Buffer B=50 mM Na-Phosphate, 300 mM NaCl, 10% Glycerol, 10 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, 500 mM Imidazole, pH of the final buffer should be 7.5). The protein is eluted off of the column with a series of increasing Imidazole solutions made by adjusting the ratios of Lysis Buffer A to Buffer B. Three different concentrations are used: 3 volumes of 75 mM lmidazole, 3 volumes of 150 mM Imidazole, 5 volumes of 500 mM Imidazole. The fractions containing the purified protein are analyzed using 8%, 10% or 14% SDS-PAGE depending on the protein size. The purified protein is then dialyzed 2X against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in order to place it into an easily workable buffer. The purified protein is stored at 4° C. or frozen at −80°.

[0197] The following alternative method may be used to purify a CaHK-1 polypeptide expressed in E coli when it is present in the form of inclusion bodies. Unless otherwise specified, all of the following steps are conducted at 4-10 ° C.

[0198] Upon completion of the production phase of the E. coli fermentation, the cell culture is cooled to 4-10° C. and the cells are harvested by continuous centrifugation at 15,000 rpm (Heraeus Sepatech). On the basis of the expected yield of protein per unit weight of cell paste and the amount of purified protein required, an appropriate amount of cell paste, by weight, is suspended in a buffer solution containing 100 mM Tris, 50 mM EDTA, pH 7.4. The cells are dispersed to a homogeneous suspension using a high shear mixer.

[0199] The cells are then lysed by passing the solution through a microfluidizer (Microfuidics, Corp. or APV Gaulin, Inc.) twice at 4000-6000 psi. The homogenate is then mixed with NaCl solution to a final concentration of 0.5 M NaCi, followed by centrifugation at 7000×g for 15 min. The resultant pellet is washed again using 0.5M NaCl, 100 mM Tris, 50 mM EDTA, pH 7.4.

[0200] The resulting washed inclusion bodies are solubilized with 1.5 M guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) for 2-4 hours. After 7000×g centrifugation for 15 min., the pellet is discarded and the CaHK-1 polypeptide-containing supernatant is incubated at 4° C. overnight to allow further GuHCl extraction.

[0201] Following high speed centrifugation (30,000×g) to remove insoluble particles, the GuHCl solubilized protein is refolded by quickly mixing the GuHCl extract with 20 volumes of buffer containing 50 mM sodium, pH 4.5, 150 mM NaCl, 2 mM EDTA by vigorous stirring. The refolded diluted protein solution is kept at 4° C. without mixing for 12 hours prior to further purification steps.

[0202] To clarify the refolded CaHK-1 polypeptide solution, a previously prepared tangential filtration unit equipped with 0.16 μm membrane filter with appropriate surface area (e.g., Filtron), equilibrated with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 is employed. The filtered sample is loaded onto a cation exchange resin (e.g., Poros HS-50, Perseptive Biosystems). The column is washed with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 and eluted with 250 mM, 500 mM, 1000 mM, and 1500 mM NaCl in the same buffer, in a stepwise manner. The absorbance at 280 mm of the effluent is continuously monitored. Fractions are collected and further analyzed by SDS-PAGE.

[0203] Fractions containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide are then pooled and mixed with 4 volumes of water. The diluted sample is then loaded onto a previously prepared set of tandem columns of strong anion (Poros HQ-50, Perseptive Biosystems) and weak anion (Poros CM-20, Perseptive Biosystems) exchange resins. The columns are equilibrated with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0. Both columns are washed with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0, 200 mM NaCl. The CM-20 column is then eluted using a 10 column volume linear gradient ranging from 0.2 M NaCl, 50 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 to 1.0 M NaCl, 50 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.5. Fractions are collected under constant A280 monitoring of the effluent. Fractions containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide (determined, for instance, by 16% SDS-PAGE) are then pooled.

[0204] The resultant CaHK-1 polypeptide exhibits greater than 95% purity after the above refolding and purification steps. No major contaminant bands are observed from Commassie blue stained 16% SDS-PAGE gel when 5 μg of purified protein is loaded. The purified protein is also tested for endotoxin/LPS contamination, and typically the LPS content is less than 0.1 ng/ml according to LAL assays.

Alternative Expression and Purification CaHK-1 Polypeptides in E. coli

[0205] The vector pQE10 is alternatively used in this example to clone and express the polypeptides of the present invention. The difference being such that an inserted DNA fragment encoding a polypeptide expresses that polypeptide with the six His residues (i.e., a “6 X His tag”) covalently linked to the amino terminus of that polypeptide. The bacterial expression vector pQE10 (QIAGEN, Inc., 9259 Eton Avenue, Chatsworth, Cal., 91311) was used in this example. The components of the pQE10 plasmid are arranged such that the inserted DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide of the present invention expresses the polypeptide with the six His residues (i.e., a “6 X His tag”)) covalently linked to the amino terminus.

[0206] The DNA sequences encoding the desired portions of a polypeptide of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) are amplified using PCR oligonucleotide primers from genomnic C. albicans DNA. The PCR primers anneal to the nucleotide sequences encoding the desired amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of the present invention. Additional nucleotides containing restriction sites to facilitate cloning in the pQE10 vector are added to the 5′ and 3′ primer sequences, respectively.

[0207] For cloning a polypeptide of the present invention, the 5′ and 3′ primers are selected to amplify their respective nucleotide coding sequences. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the point in the protein coding sequence where the 5′ and 3′ primers begins may be varied to amplify a DNA segment encoding any desired portion of a polypeptide of the present invention. The 5′ primer is designed so the coding sequence of the 6 X His tag is aligned with the restriction site so as to maintain its reading frame with that of C. albicans polypeptide. The 3′ is designed to include an stop codon. The amplified DNA fragment is then cloned, and the protein expressed, as described above for the pQE60 plasmid.

[0208] The DNA sequences of FIGS. 1 and 4 (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively) encoding amino acid sequences may also be cloned and expressed as fusion proteins by a protocol similar to that described directly above, wherein the pET-32b(+) vector (Novagen, 601 Science Drive, Madison, Wis. 53711) is preferentially used in place of pQE10.

[0209] The above methods are not limited to the polypeptide fragements actually produced. The above method, like the methods below, can be used to produce either full length polypeptides or desired fragements thereof.

Alternative Expression and Purification of CaHK-1 Polypeptides in E. coli

[0210] The bacterial expression vector pQE60 is used for bacterial expression in this example (QIAGEN, Inc., 9259 Eton Avenue, Chatsworth, Cal., 91311). However, in this example, the polypeptide coding sequence is inserted such that translation of the six His codons is prevented and, therefore, the polypeptide is produced with no 6 X His tag.

[0211] The DNA sequence encoding the desired portion of the CaHK-1 amino acid sequence is amplified from a C. albicans genomic DNA prep the deposited DNA clones using PCR oligonucleotide primers which anneal to the 5′ and 3′ nucleotide sequences corresponding to the desired portion of the CaHK-1 polypeptides. Additional nucleotides containing restriction sites to facilitate cloning in the pQE60 vector are added to the 5′ and 3′ primer sequences.

[0212] For cloning CaHK-1 polypeptides of the present invention, 5′ and 3′ primers are selected to amplify their respective nucleotide coding sequences. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the point in the protein coding sequence where the 5′ and 3′ primers begin may be varied to amplify a DNA segment encoding any desired portion of a polypeptide of the present invention. The 3′ and 5′ primers contain appropriate restriction sites followed by nucleotides complementary to the 5′ and 3′ ends of the coding sequence respectively. The 3′ primer is additionally designed to include an in-frame stop codon.

[0213] The amplified CaHK-1 polynucleotide and the vector pQE60 are digested with restriction enzymes recognizing the sites in the primers and the digested DNAs are then ligated together. Insertion of the CaHK-1 polynucleotide into the restricted pQE60 vector places the CaHK-1 polypeptide coding region including its associated stop codon downstream from the IPTG-inducible promoter and in-frame with an initiating AUG. The associated stop codon prevents translation of the six histidine codons downstream of the insertion point.

[0214] The ligation mixture is transformed into competent E. coli cells using standard procedures such as those described by Sambrook et al. E. coli strain M15/rep4, containing multiple copies of the plasmid pREP4, which expresses the lac repressor and confers kanamycin resistance (“Kanr”), is used in carrying out the illustrative example described herein. This strain, which is only one of many that are suitable for expressing CaHK-1 polypeptide, is available commercially (QIAGEN, Inc., supra). Transformants are identified by their ability to grow on LB plates in the presence of ampicillin and kanamycin. Plasmid DNA is isolated from resistant colonies and the identity of the cloned DNA confirmed by restriction analysis, PCR and DNA sequencing.

[0215] Clones containing the desired constructs are grown overnight (“O/N”) in liquid culture in LB media supplemented with both ampicillin (100 μg/ml) and kanamycin (25 μg/ml). The O/N culture is used to inoculate a large culture, at a dilution of approximately 1:25 to 1:250. The cells are grown to an optical density at 600 nm (“OD600”) of between 0.4 and 0.6. isopropyl-b-D-thiogalactopyranoside (“IPTG”) is then added to a final concentration of 1 mM to induce transcription from the lac repressor sensitive promoter, by inactivating the lacI repressor. Cells subsequently are incubated further for 3 to 4 hours. Cells then are harvested by centrifugation.

[0216] To purify the CaHK-1 polypeptide, the cells are then stirred for 3-4 hours at 4° C. in 6M guanidine-HCl, pH 8. The cell debris is removed by centrifugation, and the supernatant containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide is dialyzed against 50 mM Na-acetate buffer pH 6, supplemented with 200 mM NaCl. Alternatively, the protein can be successfully refolded by dialyzing it against 500 mM NaCl, 20% glycerol, 25 mM Tris/HCl pH 7.4, containing protease inhibitors. After renaturation the protein can be purified by ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction and size exclusion chromatography. Alternatively, an affinity chromatography step such as an antibody column can be used to obtain pure CaHK-1 polypeptide. The purified protein is stored at 4° C. or frozen at −80° C.

[0217] The following alternative method may be used to purify CaHK-1 polypeptides expressed in E coli when it is present in the form of inclusion bodies. Unless otherwise specified, all of the following steps are conducted at 4-10° C.

[0218] Upon completion of the production phase of the E. coli fermentation, the cell culture is cooled to 4-10C. and the cells are harvested by continuous centrifugation at 15,000 rpm (Heraeus Sepatech). On the basis of the expected yield of protein per unit weight of cell paste and the amount of purified protein required, an appropriate amount of cell paste, by weight, is suspended in a buffer solution containing 100 mM Tris, 50 mM EDTA, pH 7.4. The cells are dispersed to a homogeneous suspension using a high shear mixer.

[0219] The cells are then lysed by passing the solution through a microfluidizer (Microfuidics, Corp. or APV Gaulin, Inc.) twice at 4000-6000 psi. The homogenate is then mixed with NaCl solution to a final concentration of 0.5 M NaCl, followed by centrifugation at 7000×g for 15 min. The resultant pellet is washed again using 0.5M NaCl, 100 mM Tris, 50 mM EDTA, pH 7.4.

[0220] The resulting washed inclusion bodies are solubilized with 1.5 M guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) for 24 hours. After 7000×g centrifugation for 15 min., the pellet is discarded and the CaHK-1 polypeptide-containing supernatant is incubated at 4° C. overnight to allow further GuHCl extraction.

[0221] Following high speed centrifugation (30,000×g) to remove insoluble particles, the GuHCl solubilized protein is refolded by quickly mixing the GuHCl extract with 20 volumes of buffer containing 50 mM sodium, pH 4.5, 150 mM NaCl, 2 mM EDTA by vigorous stirring. The refolded diluted protein solution is kept at 4° C. without mixing for 12 hours prior to further purification steps.

[0222] To clarify the refolded CaHK-1 polypeptide solution, a previously prepared tangential filtration unit equipped with 0.16 μm membrane filter with appropriate surface area (e.g., Filtron), equilibrated with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 is employed. The filtered sample is loaded onto a cation exchange resin (e.g., Poros HS-50, Perseptive Biosystems). The column is washed with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 and eluted with 250 mM, 500 mM, 1000 mM, and 1500 mM NaCl in the same buffer, in a stepwise manner. The absorbance at 280 mm of the effluent is continuously monitored. Fractions are collected and further analyzed by SDS-PAGE.

[0223] Fractions containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide are then pooled and mixed with 4 volumes of water. The diluted sample is then loaded onto a previously prepared set of tandem columns of strong anion (Poros HQ-50, Perseptive Biosystems) and weak anion (Poros CM-20, Perseptive Biosystems) exchange resins. The columns are equilibrated with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0. Both columns are washed with 40 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0, 200 mM NaCl. The CM-20 column is then eluted using a 10 column volume linear gradient ranging from 0.2 M NaCl, 50 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.0 to 1.0 M NaCl, 50 mM sodium acetate, pH 6.5. Fractions are collected under constant A280 monitoring of the effluent. Fractions containing the CaHK-1 polypeptide (determined, for instance, by 16% SDS-PAGE) are then pooled.

[0224] The resultant CaHK-1 polypeptide exhibits greater than 95% purity after the above refolding and purification steps. No major contaminant bands are observed from Commassie blue stained 16% SDS-PAGE gel when 5 μg of purified protein is loaded. The purified protein is also tested for endotoxin/LPS contamination, and typically the LPS content is less than 0.1 ng/ml according to LAL assays.

Cloning and Expression of CaHK-1 Polypeptides in Other Bacteria

[0225] CaHK-1 polypeptides can also be produced in: Enterococcus faecalis using the methods of S. Skinner et al., (1988) Mol. Microbiol. 2:289-297 or J. I. Moreno (1996) Protein Expr. Purif. 8(3):332-340; Lactobacillus using the methods of C. Rush et al., 1997 Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 47(5):537-542; or in Bacillus subtilis using the methods Chang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,508.

Cloning and Expression of CaHK-1 Polypeptides in COS Cells

[0226] A CaHK-1 expression plasmid is made by cloning a portion of the DNA encoding a CaHK-1 polypeptide into the expression vector pDNAI/Amp or pDNAIII (which can be obtained from Invitrogen, Inc.). The expression vector pDNAI/amp contains: (1) an E. coli origin of replication effective for propagation in E. coli and other prokaryoatic cells; (2) an ampicillin resistance gene for selection of plasmid-containing prokcaryotic cells; (3) an SV40 origin of replication for propagation in eukaryotic cells; (4) a CMV promoter, a polylinker, an SV40 intron; (5) several codons encoding a hemagglutinin fragment (i.e., an “HA” tag to facilitate purification) followed by a termination codon and polyadenylation signal arranged so that a DNA can be conveniently placed under expression control of the CMV promoter and operably linked to the SV40 intron and the polyadenylation signal by means of restriction sites in the polylinker. The HA tag corresponds to an epitope derived from the influenza hemagglutinin protein described by Wilson et al. 1984 Cell 37:767. The fusion of the HA tag to the target protein allows easy detection and recovery of the recombinant protein with an antibody that recognizes the HA epitope. pDNAIII contains, in addition, the selectable neomycin marker.

[0227] A DNA fragment encoding a CaHK-1 polypeptide is cloned into the polylinker region of the vector so that recombinant protein expression is directed by the CMV promoter. The plasmid construction strategy is as follows. The DNA from a C. albicans genomic DNA prep is amplified using primers that contain convenient restriction sites, much as described above for construction of vectors for expression of CaHK-1 in E. coli. The 5′ primer contains a Kozak sequence, an AUG start codon, and nucleotides of the 5′ coding region of the CaHK-1 polypeptide. The 3′ primer, contains nucleotides complementary to the 3′ coding sequence of the CaHK-1 DNA, a stop codon, and a convenient restriction site.

[0228] The PCR amplified DNA fragment and the vector, pDNAI/Amp, are digested with appropriate restriction enzymes and then ligated. The ligation mixture is transformed into an appropriate E. coli strain such as SURE™ (Stratagene Cloning Systems, La Jolla, Cal. 92037), and the transformed culture is plated on ampicillin media plates which then are incubated to allow growth of ampicillin resistant colonies. Plasmid DNA is isolated from resistant colonies and examined by restriction analysis or other means for the presence of the fragment encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptide

[0229] For expression of a recombinant CaHK-1 polypeptide, COS cells are transfected with an expression vector, as described above, using DEAE-dextran, as described, for instance, by Sambrook et al. (supra). Cells are incubated under conditions for expression of CaHK-1 by the vector.

[0230] Expression of the CaHK-1 HA fusion protein is detected by radiolabeling and imnmunoprecipitation, using methods described in, for example Harlow et al., supra. To this end, two days after transfection, the cells are labeled by incubation in media containing 35S-cysteine for 8 hours. The cells and the media are collected, and the cells are washed and the lysed with detergent-containing RIPA buffer: 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP-40, 0.1% SDS, 1% NP-40, 0.5% DOC, 50 mM TRIS, pH 7.5, as described by Wilson et al. (supra). Proteins are precipitated from the cell lysate and from the culture media using an HA-specific monoclonal antibody. The precipitated proteins then are analyzed by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. An expression product of the expected size is seen in the cell lysate, which is not seen in negative controls.

Cloning and Expression of CaHK-1 in CHO Cells

[0231] The vector pC4 is used for the expression of CaHK-1 polypeptides in this example. Plasmid pC4 is a derivative of the plasmid pSV2-dhfr (ATCC Accession No. 37146). The plasnid contains the mouse DHFR gene under control of the SV40 early promoter. Chinese hamster ovary cells or other cells lacking dihydrofolate activity that are transfected with these plasmids can be selected by growing the cells in a selective medium (alpha minus NEM, Life Technologies) supplemented with the chemotherapeutic agent methotrexate. The amplification of the DHFR genes in cells resistant to methotrexate (MTX) has been well documented. See, e.g., Alt et al., 1978, J. Biol. Chem. 253:1357-1370; Hamlin et al., 1990, Biochem. et Biophys. Acta, 1097:107-143; Page et al., 1991, Biotechnology 9:64-68. Cells grown in increasing concentrations of MTX develop resistance to the drug by overproducing the target enzyme, DHFR, as a result of amplification of the DHFR gene. If a second gene is linked to the DHFR gene, it is usually co-amplified and over-expressed. It is known in the art that this approach may be used to develop cell lines carrying more than 1,000 copies of the amplified gene(s). Subsequently, when the methotrexate is withdrawn, cell lines are obtained which contain the amplified gene integrated into one or more chromosome(s) of the host cell.

[0232] Plasmid pC4 contains the strong promoter of the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the Rouse Sarcoma Virus, for expressing a polypeptide of interest, Cullen, et al. (1985) Mol. Cell. Biol. 5:438-447; plus a fragment isolated from the enhancer of the immediate early gene of human cytomegalovirus (CMV), Boshart, et al., 1985, Cell 41:521-530. Downstream of the promoter are the following single restriction enzyme cleavage sites that allow the integration of the genes: Bam HI, Xba I, and Asp 718. Behind these cloning sites the plasmid contains the 3′ intron and polyadenylation site of the rat preproinsulin gene. Other high efficiency promoters can also be used for the expression, e.g., the human β-actin promoter, the SV40 early or late promoters or the long terminal repeats from other retroviruses, e.g., HIV and HTLVI. Clontech's Tet-Off and Tet-On gene expression systems and similar systems can be used to express the CaHK-1 polypeptide in a regulated way in mammalian cells (Gossen et al., 1992, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:5547-5551. For the polyadenylation of the mRNA other signals, e.g., from the human growth hormone or globin genes can be used as well. Stable cell lines carrying a gene of interest integrated into the chromosomes can also be selected upon co-transfection with a selectable marker such as gpt, G418 or hygromycin. It is advantageous to use more than one selectable marker in the beginning, e.g., G418 plus methotrexate.

[0233] The plasmid pC4 is digested with the restriction enzymes and then dephosphorylated using calf intestinal phosphates by procedures known in the art. The vector is then isolated from a 1% agarose gel. The DNA sequence encoding the CaHK-1 polypeptide is amplified using PCR oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the 5′ and 3′ sequences of the desired portion of the gene. A 5′ primer containing a restriction site, a Kozak sequence, an AUG start codon, and nucleotides of the 5′ coding region of the CaHK-1 polypeptide is synthesized and used. A 3′ primer, containing a restriction site, stop codon, and nucleotides complementary to the 3′ coding sequence of the CaHK-1 polypeptides is synthesized and used. The amplified fragment is digested with the restriction endonucleases and then purified again on a 1% agarose gel. The isolated fragment and the dephosphorylated vector are then ligated with T4 DNA ligase. E. coli HB101 or XL-1 Blue cells are then transformed and bacteria are identified that contain the fragment inserted into plasmid pC4 using, for instance, restriction enzyme analysis.

[0234] Chinese hamster ovary cells lacking an active DHFR gene are used for transfection. Five μg of the expression plasmid pC4 is cotransfected with 0.5 μg of the plasmid pSVneo using a lipid-mediated transfection agent such as Lipofectin™ or LipofectAMINE.™ (LifeTechnologies Gaithersburg, Md). The plasmid pSV2-neo contains a dominant selectable marker, the neo gene from Tn5 encoding an enzyme that confers resistance to a group of antibiotics including G418. The cells are seeded in alpha minus MEM supplemented with 1 mg/ml G418. After 2 days, the cells are trypsinized and seeded in hybridoma cloning plates (Greiner, Germany) in alpha minus MEM supplemented with 10, 25, or 50 ng/ml of methotrexate plus 1 mg/ml G418. After about 10-14 days single clones are trypsinized and then seeded in 6-well petri dishes or 10 ml flasks using different concentrations of methotrexate (50 nM, 100 nM, 200 nM, 400 nM, 800 nM). Clones growing at the highest concentrations of methotrexate are then transferred to new 6-well plates containing even higher concentrations of methotrexate (1 μM, 2 μM, 5 μM, 10 mM, 20 mM). The same procedure is repeated until clones are obtained which grow at a concentration of 100-200 μM. Expression of the desired gene product is analyzed, for instance, by SDS-PAGE and Western blot or by reversed phase HPLC analysis.

CaHK-1-Deletion Experiments

[0235] The standard “urablaster” approach was used to construct gene deleted strains in CaHK-1. Strain CAI4 (ura3−) was transformed with linearized CaHK-1 which had been deleted of an in 5.4 kb HindIII/BamH1 fragment and replaced with the hisGURA3hisG insert from pMB7 containing URA3. The deleted portion of CaHK-1 included the key histidine residue (His2007 of SEQ ID NO: 4) of the sensor domain as well as regions both N- and C terminal of the sensor domain. Ura+ transformants were analyzed for integration by Southern hybridization. Subsequently, one of the Ura+ transformants was then plated on YNB containing 1 mg/ml 5-FOA to select for spontaneous Ura− derivatives. FOA is toxic for strains containing the URA3 gene; therefore, only those cells which have lost the URA3 by intrachromosomal or interchromosomal recombination will grow on YNB-FOA. The loss of the URA3hisG portion of the disruption casette was confirmed by Southern hybridization; the transformation protocol was then repeated using the ura3− segregant (hisG), heterozygous for CaHK-1 in order to disrupt the second allele and thereby provide a strain with the desired null phenotype. The in vitro phenotype of the CaHK-1 null was studied. Null cells displayed a flocculation phenotype in several liquid media at pH 7.5 but not at pH 3.5 (30° C.). This phenotype suggests that a change in the cell surface of the organism (hence, flocculation) is associated with a mutation in this putative signal gene.

Animal Studies of CaHK-1 Mutants

[0236] Upregulation of CaHK-1 in oral candidiasis. Quantitative RT-PCR was used in order to measure transcription of CaHK-1 during infection. For these experiments, a rat model of oropharyngeal candidiasis was established in pathogen-free rats. Hyposalivation of the animals was achieved by liuation of the parotid ducts and the removal of the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands. This procedure allows the organism to colonize the oral cavity. Rats were infected using a cotton-tipped applicator saturated with an actively growing culture (yeasts) of C albicans. At 72 h post-infection, infected animals were sacrificed, and the oral cavity was swabbed to remove adherent organisms. Cells were suspended in PBS for quantitation of organisms and RNA extraction. For comparison to in vitro grown organisms, strain SC5314 was grown in Lee's medium at 37° C. to induce hyphae formation as occurred in vivo. Prior to RNA extraction, in vitro and in vivo samples were resuspended in cold RSB lysis buffer to lyse rat epithelial cells. Following centrifugation, the cell samples were resuspended in cold Tris-HCI (pH 7..5), containing 100 mM LiCl and 10 mM DTT. An equal volume of buffer-saturated phenol and glass beads was added, and the mixture was vortexed to break C. albicans cells. Samples were reextracted 2x with phenol/CHCl3 and 1x with CHCl3. Each RNA preparation was precipitated with ehtanol and stored. RT-PCR reactions included RNA isolated from independent samples obtained from at least two animals and RNA from cultures prepared in vitro. For all reactions, an additional control was also included in which the reverse transcriptase was omitted. Twenty-one-mer primers were designed from the sequence of the CaHK-1 which amplified a 300 bp fragment corresponding to positions 4157-4467 (SEQ ID NO: 1). RT was done using Superscript H (Gibro-BRL) under conditions recommended by the manufacturer. cDNAs were then amplified by PCR using AmpliTaq (Perkin-Elmer) with [α33 P] dATP used as the radiolabel. The parameters for PCR were: denaturation for 5 min at 95° C.; denaturation for 45 sec at 95° C.; annealing for 45 sec at 68° C.; exyrndiond for 1 min at 72° C. (15 cyles). PCR products were resolved by electrophoresis in 6% polyacrylamide gel and visualized by autoradiography. A 4.5-fold increase in expression of CaHK-1 was determined by densitometer tracings. It was observed that transcription of CaHK-1 is upregulated during oral candidiasis. The data show that CaHK-1 is upregulated in oral disease and, therefore, suggestive that CaHK-1 is required for the successful infection of the oral cavity by the organism.

Animal Studies on the Virulence of the CaHK-1/CaHK-1 Null

[0237] The CaHK-1 null strain, described above, was furthure evaluated in a systemic murine model of candidiasis. Mice were infected intravenously with 1.5×106 yeast cells of CAF2-1 (CaHK-1/CaHK-1), CAF11 (CaHK-1/CaHK-1) or CAF21 (CaHK-1/CaHK-1). Groups of 5 mice were euthanised at 24, 48 and 72 h post-infection and tissue loads determined for CAF2-1 and CAF21. Additionally, revival of mice infected with each of the three strains was also measured daily for 21 days. Our data indicate that within 24 hrs, all mice infected with wt cells (CAF2-1) died. In comparison, all mice survived infection with CAF21 (CaHK-1/CaHK-1) while 1/7 mice died when infected with CAF11 (CaHK-1/CaHK-1). Correspondingly, kidney levels of mice infected with the null strain reached a maximum at 24-48 hr and then decreased 2 logs by 72 hr. Actually, mice infected with the null strain have survived over a 14 day period, while 2/8 heterozygotes have died during this 21 day period. These data are highly suggestive that CaHK-1 is essential for infection. Our observation does not necessarily mean that CaHK-1 is a virulence factor. More likely, the gene provides some essential functions via a signal transduction mechanism which results in the transcription of virulence/growth genes.

[0238] The disclosure of all publications (including patents, patent applications, journal articles, laboratory manuals, books, or other documents) cited herein and the sequence listings are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0239] The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein, which are intended as single illustrations of individual aspects of the invention. Functionally equivalent methods and components are within the scope of the invention, in addition to those shown and described herein and will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

	Number	Date	Country
	60074308	Feb 1998	US
	60052273	Jul 1997	US

	Number	Date	Country
Parent	09419291	Oct 1999	US
Child	10116048	Apr 2002	US
Parent	09112450	Jul 1998	US
Child	09419291	Oct 1999	US

Histidine kinase two-component in candida albicans

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