Patent Application
20220023395
Ontak® (denileukin diftitox), is a 521 amino acid, recombinant, DNA-derived cytotoxic protein composed of the sequences for diphtheria toxin fragments A and a portion of fragment B (Met1-His388) and the sequences for human interleukin-2 (IL-2; Ala1-Thr133). It is currently produced in an E. coli expression system and has a molecular weight of 58 kD. Neomycin is used in the fermentation process but is undetectable in the final product. Ontak®, which is supplied in single use vials as a sterile, frozen solution intended for intravenous (IV) administration, was approved by the FDA in 1999 for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). The FDA placed Ontak® on clinical hold in June 2011 because of concerns regarding the presence of protein aggregates of heterogeneous molecular weight, excess residual DNA, and excess residual detergent in the final formulation. The production of Ontak® was achieved by expressing the recombinant protein in the E. coli cytoplasm, and this expression system resulted in the recombinant protein forming large insoluble aggregates or so-called inclusion bodies comprised of the Ontak® polypeptide. In the current process of production, which includes denaturation and refolding of the inclusion body forms, protein aggregates of heterogeneous molecular weight were still present in the final formulation. The presence of these aggregates in the purified form is a consequence of using E. coli-derived cytoplasmic inclusion bodies as the source of the polypeptide and because of the intrinsic hydrophobic nature of the toxin's transmembrane domain even in the presence of Tween 20. Ontak® produced using this method will hereafter be referred to as classic-Ontak® or c-Ontak®.
In addition, like all of the bacterial and plant toxins, c-Ontak® carries amino acid motifs that induce vascular leak syndrome (VLS). Approximately 30% of patients treated with c-Ontak® develop VLS symptoms ranging from peripheral edema with rapid weight gain to hypoalbuminemia to pulmonary edema.
The molecular mechanism of VLS is not well understood. Several mechanisms have been proposed to cause disruption of cell junctions between vascular endothelial cells and different triggers may induce one or more pathways that lead to vascular leak. NK cells can target endothelial cells for lysis and depletion of these cells has been shown to protect against IL-2 induced vascular leakage in mice (Kotasek D, Vercellotti G M, Ochoa A C, Bach F H, White J G, Jacob H S. Mechanism of cultured endothelial injury induced by lymphokine-activated killer cells. Cancer Res. 1988; 48:5528-32. PMID: 3262010). Inflammatory cytokines have also been implicated in causing VLS. TNFα, IL-1, and IL-2 have all been shown to increase permeability of endothelial cell layers in vitro. Baluna and colleagues suggested that specific amino acid motifs in ricin toxin and diphtheria toxin bind to endothelial cells and disrupt cell-cell or cell-extracellular matrix interactions. They found that mutations in the amino acid motif of the A chain of ricin toxin led to decreased disruption endothelial cell monolayers in vitro, and decreased induction of vascular leak in mice; however, the effects of the mutations on enzymatic activity were not assessed (Baluna R, Rizo J, Gordon B E, Ghetie V, Vitetta E S. Evidence for a structural motif in toxins and interleukin-2 that may be responsible for binding to endothelial cells and initiating vascular leak syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1999; 96:3957-62. PMID: 10097145). E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) and C. diphtheriae-derived secreted-Ontak (s-Ontak, SEQ ID NO: 13) have polypeptide sequences that differ by one amino acid (the E. coli-derived protein has an N-terminal methionine residue which is absent in the C. diphtheriae protein). However, these two proteins are otherwise identical from a primary amino acid perspective, and they share at least five vascular leak inducing motifs.
Unlike infectious diseases, where drugs such as antibiotics can specifically inhibit essential bacterial proteins while avoiding collateral damage to human cells, cancer drugs often target normal cells as well, leading to serious side effects such as immunosuppression and neuropathy. As cancer cells are very similar to self, the immune system encounters a similar problem in distinguishing tumor from non-tumor, and the same mechanisms that prevent autoimmunity can also inhibit effective anti-tumor immune responses. Cancer immunotherapy seeks to harness the patient's immune response to fight their cancer, and recent successes in clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 blockade have made evident that enhancing anti-tumor responses can produce durable clinical responses in some patients, with overall response rates of 20-40%. For patients who do not respond to current immunotherapies, further work must be done to discover additional targets and combination regimens that will provide clinical benefit.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are inhibitory immune cells that are essential for preventing autoimmunity. While Tregs can protect against detrimental inflammatory responses, their suppressive function also contributes to inhibiting protective immune responses in cancers and infectious disease. In fact, tumor cells can directly promote Treg activity, leading to a decreased anti-tumor immune response. Tumor infiltrating Tregs mediate their immune suppression through various mechanisms, including inhibition of cytotoxic CD8+ T cell and dendritic cell function (Chen M-L, Pittet M, Gorelik L, Flavell R A, Weissleder R, Boehmer H von, et al. Regulatory T cells suppress tumor-specific CD8 T cell cytotoxicity through TGF-B signals in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2005; 102:419-424. PMID: 15623559 and Jang J, Hajdu C H, Liot C, Miller G, Dustin M L, Bar-Sagi D. Crosstalk between Regulatory T Cells and Tumor-Associated Dendritic Cells Negates Anti-tumor Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer. Cell Rep. 2017; 20:558-71. PMID: 28723561).
What is needed are modified Ontak-like proteins with minimal VLS side-effects and the use of these proteins to create safer cancer treatments that are more effective at eliminating cancer in subjects.
One embodiment of the present invention is a DNA expression vector comprising: a toxP; a mutant toxO that blocks Fe-mediated regulation of gene expression; and a DNA sequence encoding a protein, wherein the toxP and the mutant toxO regulate expression of the DNA segment encoding the protein. It is preferred that DNA expression vectors of the present invention include DNA sequences encoding a signal peptide so that a protein expressed off a DNA expression vector is attached to the signal peptide that is typically cleaved off to form a mature protein. The preferred mutant toxO is SEQ ID NO: 1 and the preferred signal peptide is SEQ ID NO: 5. The DNA expression vectors of the present invention may be used to produce many kinds of proteins such as CRM 197 and CRM 107, or a combination thereof. CRM protein sequences are illustrated in SEQ ID NOs: 18-21. It is preferred that the DNA expression vectors of the present invention encode a diphtheria toxin, or functional part thereof, attached to a receptor binding protein, or a functional part thereof to form a diphtheria toxin receptor fusion protein. The receptor binding protein portion of such fusion proteins may be selected from the group comprising IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, EGF, FGF, substance P, CD4, αMSH, GRP, TT fragment C, GCSF, heregulin β1, a functional part thereof, or a combination thereof. Examples of diphtheria toxin fusion proteins include the proteins illustrated in any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, and proteins encoded by a nucleic acid of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a DNA expression vector comprising: a toxP; a mutant toxO that blocks Fe-mediated regulation of gene expression; a DNA sequence encoding a protein comprising a signal sequence; a diphtheria toxin, or a functional part thereof, that is free of a diphtheria receptor binding domain or has a non-functional diphtheria toxin receptor binding domain, and a target receptor binding domain selected from the group comprising IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, EGF, FGF, substance P, CD4, αMSH, GRP, TT fragment C, GCSF, heregulin β1, a functional part thereof, or a combination thereof, wherein the toxP and the mutant toxO regulate expression of the DNA sequence encoding the protein. Typically, a bacteria transformed with a DNA expression vector of the present invention produces a diphtheria toxin receptor binding fusion protein attached to a signal peptide that is directed to a periplasm, a culture medium, or both locations by the signal peptide. If the bacteria is E. coli then the signal peptide typically directs the diphtheria toxin receptor binding fusion protein to the periplasm. If the bacteria is Corynebacterium diphtheria then signal peptide directs the diphtheria toxin receptor binding fusion protein to the culture medium. It is preferred that a DNA expression vector of the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 3 and may comprise a DNA encoding a cleavable protein tag wherein the cleavable protein tag is attached to the diphtheria toxin receptor binding fusion protein. Example of diphtheria toxin receptor binding fusion proteins produced from the DNA expression vectors of the present invention include any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, and proteins encoded by a nucleic acid of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a method for producing aggregate-free monomeric diphtheria toxin fusion proteins comprising the following steps: transforming bacteria with a DNA expression vectors of the present invention; forming a transformant; incubating the transformant in a culture medium to allow expression of a protein that is secreted into the culture medium; and purifying the protein from the culture medium. The preferred bacteria used in this method is Corynebacterium diphtheria.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a method for producing aggregate-free monomeric diphtheria toxin fusion proteins comprising the following steps: 1) transforming Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain with a DNA vector comprising: a toxP; a mutant toxO that blocks Fe-mediated regulation of gene expression; a DNA sequence encoding a protein comprising: signal peptide; a diphtheria toxin, or a functional part thereof, that is free of a diphtheria receptor binding domain or has a non-functional diphtheria toxin receptor binding domain; and a target receptor binding domain selected from the group comprising IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, EGF, FGF, substance P, CD4, αMSH, GRP, TT fragment C, GCSF, heregulin β1, TNFα, TGFβ, a functional part thereof, or a combination thereof, wherein the toxP and the mutant toxO regulate expression of the DNA sequence encoding the protein; 2) forming a transformant; 3) incubating the transformant in a culture medium to allow expression of the protein and that is secreted into the culture medium; and 4) purifying the diphtheria toxin fusion protein from the culture medium. Examples of diphtheria toxin receptor fusion proteins produced by methods of the present invention include any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, and proteins encoded by a nucleic acid of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59. The preferred Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain used in the methods of the present invention is Corynebacterium C7 beta (−), tox (−).
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a method of treating a patient with tuberculosis comprising the following steps: preparing a diphtheria toxin fusion protein as provided in this application; administering the diphtheria toxin fusion protein to a patient with tuberculosis.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a DNA expression vector comprising a mutant toxO promoter.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain containing a DNA expression vector of the present invention.
Another embodiment of the present invention is method of making a protein comprising the following steps: providing a DNA expression vector comprising a toxP, a mutant toxO that blocks Fe-mediated regulation of gene expression, a signal sequence, and a DNA sequence encoding a protein; transforming a bacteria strain with the DNA vector to form a transformant; incubating the transformant in a culture medium for a period of time to allow expression of a protein that is secreted into the culture medium; and purifying the protein from the culture medium.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a fusion protein selected from any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, or encoded by a nucleic acid of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion protein described above.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion protein describe above, and at least one or more other chemotherapy agents. Examples of chemotherapy agents include isoniazid, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, streptomycin, amikacin, kanamycin, ethionamide, protionamide, terizidone, thiacetazone, cycloserine, capreomycin, para-amino salicylic acid (PAS), viomycin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, bedaquiline, delamanid, linezolid, tedezolid, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, meropenem, imipenem, clarithromycin or clofazimine.
A pharmaceutical composition of comprising a fusion protein described above, and at least one or more other antimicrobial agents. Examples of antimicrobial agents include isoniazid, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, streptomycin, amikacin, kanamycin, ethionamide, protionamide, terizidone, thiacetazone, cycloserine, capreomycin, para-amino salicylic acid (PAS), viomycin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, bedaquiline, or delamanid, linezolid, tedezolid, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, meropenem, imipenem, clarithromycin, or clofazimine.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating or preventing cancer in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion protein selected from any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, or encoded by a nucleic acid selected from any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating or preventing tuberculosis in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a fusion protein selected from any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, or encoded by a nucleic acid selected from any one of SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a prokaryotic cell line comprising a DNA expression vector of the present invention.
Another embodiment of the present invention is kit comprising the DNA expression vector of the present invention.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a toxP comprising SEQ ID NO: 2.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a protein of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, 30, 38-40, 42-43, 45-46, and 58, or a protein encoded by a nucleic acid selected from any one or SEQ ID NOs: 31, 41, 44, and 59.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating or preventing cancer in a subject comprising administering to a subject having cancer or prone of getting cancer a first agent that depletes the subject's regulatory T cells (Tregs), followed by administering to the subject a second agent comprising a checkpoint inhibitor. The methods treat or prevent the cancers including colon cancer, renal cell cancer, melanoma, glioblastoma multiforme, lung cancer, solid tumors, renal carcinoma, breast cancer, epidermoid carcinoma, or a combination thereof, as examples. Suitable first agents used in the present invention include one or more diphtheria toxin fusion protein of the present invention described in the specification or
Another embodiment of the present invention are diphtheria toxin fusion proteins having reduced vascular leakage consisting of SEQ ID Nos: 10, 15, 43, 13, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 125, 127, 129, functional parts thereof, or a combination thereof.
Another embodiment of the present invention are nucleic acid sequences that encode diphtheria toxin fusion protein having reduced vascular leakage illustrated in
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating or preventing vascular leak syndrome by administering s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL2-D3E, other single or double mutant protein described in
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of treating or preventing colon, renal, and/or breast cancer in subject by administering s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL2-D3E, other single or double mutant proteins provided described in
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of depleting myeloid derived suppressor cells in a subject by administering s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL2-D3E, DAB1-389-hIL4-V6A, s-DAB1-389-hIL4-D3E, or a combination thereof to a subject and depleting myeloid derived suppressor cells in the subject compared to a reference subject who was not administered s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL2-D3E, DAB1-389-hIL4-V6A, s-DAB1-389-hIL4-D3E or a combination thereof.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of depleting a tumor that is CD124+ by administering s-DAB1-389-IL4-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL4-D3E, or a combination thereof to a subject having or prone of getting a CD124+ tumor, and depleting the tumor compared to a reference subject who was not administered s-DAB1-389-IL4-V6A, s-DAB1-389-IL4-D3E, or a combination thereof. An example of a CD124+ tumor is triple negative breast cancer.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of depleting a tumor expressing a EGFR comprising the steps of administering s-DAB1-389-EGF-V6A, s-DAB1-389-EGF-D3E or a combination thereof to a subject having or prone of getting a tumor expressing a EGFR. Depleting the tumor in the subject compared to a reference subject who has not been administered s-DAB1-389-EGF-V6A, s-DAB1-389-EGF-D3E or a combination. An example of a tumor carrying EGFR is glioblastoma multiforme.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The following references provide one of skill with a general definition of many of the terms used in this invention: Singleton et al., Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology (2nd ed. 1994); The Cambridge Dictionary of Science and Technology (Walker ed., 1988); The Glossary of Genetics, 5th Ed., R. Rieger et al. (eds.), Springer Verlag (1991); and Hale & Marham, The Harper Collins Dictionary of Biology (1991). As used herein, the following terms have the meanings ascribed to them below, unless specified otherwise.
The term “activity” refers to the ability of a gene to perform its function such as Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (an oxidoreductase) catalyzing the degradation of the essential amino acid tryptophan (trp) to N-formyl-kynurenine.
By “agent” is meant any small molecule chemical compound, antibody, nucleic acid molecule, or polypeptide, or fragments thereof.
By “ameliorate” is meant decrease, suppress, attenuate, diminish, arrest, or stabilize the development or progression of a disease.
By “alteration” is meant a change (increase or decrease) in the expression levels or activity of a gene or polypeptide as detected by standard art known methods such as those described herein. As used herein, an alteration includes a 10% change in expression levels, preferably a 25% change, more preferably a 40% change, and most preferably a 50% or greater change in expression levels.”
By “analog” is meant a molecule that is not identical, but has analogous functional or structural features. For example, a polypeptide analog retains the biological activity of a corresponding naturally-occurring polypeptide, while having certain biochemical modifications that enhance the analog's function relative to a naturally occurring polypeptide. Such biochemical modifications could increase the analog's protease resistance, membrane permeability, or half-life, without altering, for example, ligand binding. An analog may include an unnatural amino acid.
c- means “classic” when attached to a term such as c-denileukin diftitox means Ontak® or that commercially available protein.
By “disease” is meant any condition or disorder that damages or interferes with the normal function of a cell, tissue, or organ. Examples of diseases include cancer and tuberculosis.
The term “DT” refers to diphtheria toxin.
The terms “DT” and “s-DAB” are used interchangeably and refers to secreted forms of diphtheria toxin fragment A and part of fragment B.
By “effective amount” is meant the amount of a required to ameliorate the symptoms of a disease relative to an untreated patient. The effective amount of active compound(s) used to practice the present invention for therapeutic treatment of a disease varies depending upon the manner of administration, the age, body weight, and general health of the subject. Ultimately, the attending physician or veterinarian will decide the appropriate amount and dosage regimen. Such amount is referred to as an “effective” amount.
By “EGF” is meant epidermal growth factor.
By “EGFR” is meant epidermal growth factor receptor.
The term “express” refers to the ability of a gene to express the gene product including for example its corresponding mRNA or protein sequence (s).
By “fragment” is meant a portion of a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule. This portion contains, preferably, at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the entire length of the reference nucleic acid molecule or polypeptide. A fragment may contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, or 1000 nucleotides or amino acids
is- means “immature secreted” when attached to a term such as is-denileukin diftitox means immature secreted denileukin diftitox that contains a signal peptide.
ms- means “mature secreted” when attached to a term such as ms-denileukin diftitox means mature secreted denileukin diftitox that has been processed and no longer contains a signal peptide.
n- means “new” when attached to a term such as n-denileukin diftitox means new denileukin diftitox.
As used herein, the terms “prevent,” “preventing,” “prevention,” “prophylactic treatment” and the like refer to reducing the probability of developing a disorder or condition in a subject, who does not have, but is at risk of or susceptible to developing a disorder or condition.
The terms “polypeptide,” “peptide” and “protein” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues. The terms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residue is an analog or mimetic of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acid polymers. Polypeptides can be modified, e.g., by the addition of carbohydrate residues to form glycoproteins. The terms “polypeptide,” “peptide” and “protein” include glycoproteins, as well as non-glycoproteins.
The term “purity” refers to the amount of polypeptide of the invention present in a pharmaceutical composition free of other polypeptides. For example, a polypeptide of the invention present in a pharmaceutical composition having a purity of about 80% means that greater than about 80% of polypeptide is full-length and contaminated by less than about 20% of either product-related or unrelated polypeptides. Purity can be determined, for example, by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and staining with Coomassie blue, methods which are described in this application or by other methods known to those skilled in the art.
The term “aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide” refers to the amount of polypeptide of the invention present in a pharmaceutical composition in monomeric form. For example, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention comprising greater than about 80% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide means that greater than about 80% of the full-length polypeptide is in monomeric form. The amount of aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide can be determined, for example, by gel permeation chromatography using known monomeric polypeptides as size standards or by non-reducing, SDS-free native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, methods which are described in this application or by other methods known to those skilled in the art.
By “reduces” is meant a negative alteration of at least 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%.
A “reference” refers to a standard or control conditions such as a sample (human cells) or a subject that is a free, or substantially free, of an agent such as one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof.
A “reference sequence” is a defined sequence used as a basis for sequence comparison. A reference sequence may be a subset of or the entirety of a specified sequence; for example, a segment of a full-length cDNA or gene sequence, or the complete cDNA or gene sequence. For polypeptides, the length of the reference polypeptide sequence will generally be at least about 16 amino acids, preferably at least about 20 amino acids, more preferably at least about 25 amino acids, and even more preferably about 35 amino acids, about 50 amino acids, or about 100 amino acids. For nucleic acids, the length of the reference nucleic acid sequence will generally be at least about 50 nucleotides, preferably at least about 60 nucleotides, more preferably at least about 75 nucleotides, and even more preferably about 100 nucleotides or about 300 nucleotides or any integer thereabout or there between.
s- means “secreted” when attached to a term such as s-denileukin diftitox means secreted denileukin diftitox. Secreted denileukin diftitox includes is- and m-forms.
As used herein, the term “subject” is intended to refer to any individual or patient to which the method described herein is performed. Generally the subject is human, although as will be appreciated by those in the art, the subject may be an animal. Thus other animals, including mammals such as rodents (including mice, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs), cats, dogs, rabbits, farm animals including cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, etc., and primates (including monkeys, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas) are included within the definition of subject.
By “substantially identical” is meant a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule exhibiting at least 50% identity to a reference amino acid sequence (for example, any one of the amino acid sequences described herein) or nucleic acid sequence (for example, any one of the nucleic acid sequences described herein). Preferably, such a sequence is at least 60%, more preferably 80% or 85%, and more preferably 90%, 95% or even 99% identical at the amino acid level or nucleic acid to the sequence used for comparison.
Sequence identity is typically measured using sequence analysis software (for example, Sequence Analysis Software Package of the Genetics Computer Group, University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, Wis. 53705, BLAST, BESTFIT, GAP, or PILEUP/PRETTYBOX programs). Such software matches identical or similar sequences by assigning degrees of homology to various substitutions, deletions, and/or other modifications. Conservative substitutions typically include substitutions within the following groups: glycine, alanine; valine, isoleucine, leucine; aspartic acid, glutamic acid, asparagine, glutamine; serine, threonine; lysine, arginine; and phenylalanine, tyrosine. In an exemplary approach to determining the degree of identity, a BLAST program may be used, with a probability score between e−3 and e−100 indicating a closely related sequence.
Ranges provided herein are understood to be shorthand for all of the values within the range. For example, a range of 1 to 50 is understood to include any number, combination of numbers, or sub-range from the group consisting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, or 50.
As used herein, the terms “treat,” “treating,” “treatment,” and the like refer to reducing or ameliorating a disorder and/or symptoms associated therewith. It will be appreciated that, although not precluded, treating a disorder or condition does not require that the disorder, condition or symptoms associated therewith be completely eliminated. Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “or” is understood to be inclusive. Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the terms “a”, “an”, and “the” are understood to be singular or plural.
Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. About can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term about.
The recitation of a listing of chemical groups in any definition of a variable herein includes definitions of that variable as any single group or combination of listed groups. The recitation of an embodiment for a variable or aspect herein includes that embodiment as any single embodiment or in combination with any other embodiments or portions thereof.
Any compositions or methods provided herein can be combined with one or more of any of the other compositions and methods provided herein.
VLM- means “vascular leakage mutant” when attached to a tem such as denileukin diftitox-VLM means denileukin diftitox vascular leakage mutant.
w- means “wild type” when attached to a term such as w-diphtheria toxin means wild type-diphtheria toxin.
One embodiment of the present invention is the discovery of a process that produces aggregate-free, monomeric, diphtheria toxin fusion proteins having enhanced purity and quality. This process includes transforming bacteria including preferably, strains of Corynebacterium diphtheria with DNA expression vectors of the present invention. DNA expression vectors of the present invention are designed to include specific genetic elements comprising a tox promoter (toxP) and an overlapping novel, mutated tox operator (toxO), preferably a signal sequence, and a DNA sequence encoding a protein. The protein is preferably a fusion protein including a diphtheria toxin, or functional part thereof, and a target receptor binding domain or a functional part thereof. The term “functional part thereof” means a part of a diphtheria toxin protein that acts as a toxin or the part of a target receptor binding domain that binds to its receptor. DNA expression vectors of the present invention are designed so proteins are expressed from a tox promoter (toxP) and a mutant tox operator (toxO).
Mutant toxO
toxO, is a 19-bp operator region that is composed of two 9 bp imperfect palindromic arms interrupted by a central cytosine (C) base. The wild type toxO (
SEQ ID NO: 1 (Mutant toxO DNA sequence)
SEQ ID NO: 2 (toxP including the mutant toxO DNA sequence where the mutant toxO sequence is underlined)
The toxO DNA operator sequence is bound by a protein known as the diphtheria toxin repressor, DtxR. DtxR is a global iron-activated regulatory protein that is able to control gene expression. In iron-replete conditions, Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions bind to apo-DtxR causing a conformational change that allows the formation of homodimers of the DtxR repressor, which bind to the tox operator (toxO) DNA sequence and repress tox gene expression. In low iron environments, Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions disassociate from DtxR causing it to lose its DNA binding capability and disassociate from the operator; this event thereby allows expression of tox gene products.
To overcome the inhibitory effect of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions on tox expression, a DNA expression vector was created replacing the wild type (WT) toxO with a mutant toxO DNA sequence. This change blocks Fe ion-mediated regulation of tox gene expression.
The DNA expression vectors of the present invention includes a toxP, mutant toxO, a DNA sequence encoding a protein, and preferably a signal sequence. SEQ ID NO: 3 is one example of a DNA sequence containing these genetic elements that may be part of a DNA expression vector of the present invention. As mentioned, the asterisks observed in SEQ ID NO: 3 are placed above the base pair changes between the mutant and wild type toxO. SEQ ID NO: 3 is numbered such that the toxP extends from base 1 to 30, and toxO begins at base 24 and ends at base 42 (prior to the underlined DNA sequence). The underlined DNA sequence represents base 74 to base 148 and is a region of DNA encoding a 25 amino acid signal sequence (also observe in SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO: 5, and
DNA expression vectors of the present invention include DNA sequences encoding one or more protein(s). A preferred protein of the present invention is a fusion protein comprising a diphtheria toxin (or a functional part thereof) and a target receptor binding protein (or a functional part thereof). An example of a diphtheria toxin that may be produced from a DNA expression is any functional part of a diphtheria toxin or any functional part of a diphtheria toxin vascular leakage mutant. Examples of proteins of target receptor binding domains produced from a DNA expression vector of the present invention include, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, EGF, FGF, substance P, CD4, αMSH, GRP, TT fragment C, GCSF, heregulin β1, TNFα, TGFβ, or a combination thereof. Other target receptor binding domains may be used depending upon the therapeutic application; however, SEQ. ID NO. 9 is a preferred DNA sequence encoding a functional part of IL2 receptor binding domain. For the purposes of the present invention, some of the DNA plasmids and the genetic elements thereof are illustrated in
TTAATAGGGGCGCTACTGGGGATAGGGGCCCCACCTTCAGCCCATGCAGG
Like all of the bacterial and plant toxins, denileukin diftitox carries amino acid motifs that may induce vascular leak syndrome (VLS). Approximately 30% of patients treated with Ontak® develop VLS ranging from rapid weight gain with peripheral edema to hypoalbuminemia to pulmonary edema. Mutations were made to the DNA sequence of Ontak® as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,865,866. It was discovered that DNA mutations made to the DNA sequence such that the valine (GTT) at the 7th residue of SEQ ID NO: 10 is replaced with an alanine as shown in SEQ ID NO: 16, resulted in the fusion toxin having little, or no, vascular leak syndrome side effects. These mutants are referred to as “vascular leak mutants” (VLM). The vascular leak mutants, or denileukin diftitox-VLMS are shown to have the same potency as c-denileukin diftitox in
Also, the sequences V29D30S31 and I290D291S292 shown in SEQ ID NO: 10 (amino acid sequence of c-denileukin diftitox), when mutated also will reduce VLS. A claim in this discovery is that introduction of substitutions in V29D30S31 and/or I290D291S292 such as V29A or I290A may be introduced into the corresponding positions of diphtheria toxin fusion proteins and that these substitutions will also have value in further reducing vascular leakage syndrome.
Demonstration of Reduced Vascular Leak, Reduced Mouse Lethality and Increased Mouse Tolerability with C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 43 Compared to C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 58
E. coli-derived
C. diphtheriae-
C. diphtheriae-
C. diphtheriae-
C. diphtheriae-
Classic Ontak (E. coli-derived) and s-Ontak (soluble, monomeric, secreted; derived from C. diphtheriae) is a diphtheria fusion toxin that targets high affinity IL-2 receptor bearing cells and is approved for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). Additionally, E. coli-derived classic Ontak has been found to transiently deplete regulatory T cells (Tregs) in patients, and previous studies suggest the drug may have utility as a cancer immunotherapy. A serious side effect of E. coli-derived classic Ontak treatment is the induction of vascular leak syndrome (VLS). VLS can cause hypotension, hypoalbuminemia, and peripheral edema and is a major cause of treatment cessation. The inventors have made a C. diphtheriae-derived analogue of E. coli-derived classic Ontak in which the protein is secreted in fully soluble form and is monomeric. Further the inventors made C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 15 which is C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak with a V6A amino acid substitution and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 which is C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak-His6 with a V6A amino acid substitution. The inventors show that C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 decreases vascular leak in vitro, is less toxic in mice, and is better tolerated by surviving mice than C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 58. Taken together, these data reveal that C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 is less toxic than C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 and has promise as a cancer immunotherapy. C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 15 (V6A not his-tagged) is therefore anticipated to be less toxic than C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 13 s-Ontak (not his tagged) and also has promise as a cancer immunotherapy
The inventors hypothesized that mutating one or more of these motifs would decrease toxicity of the drug due to VLS. The inventors made a single amino acid substitution, V6A, in C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak in a predicted motif and assessed the affect of the mutation on vascular leak, toxicity, and activity.
C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 43 Induces Less HUVEC Permeability In Vitro than C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 58.
The catalytic domain of diphtheria toxin has 4 predicted vascular leak inducing motifs, while IL-2 has a single predicted motif. The N-terminal predicted motif of E. coli-derived classic Ontak (residues 7-9) and C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak (residues 6-8) are not part of the ADP-ribosyl transferase active site, and the inventors chose to mutate this motif to avoid affecting catalytic activity. The inventors made a single amino acid substitution in C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak-His6 of Val to Ala at position 6, denoted as C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43. The inventors then compared the effect of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 compared to C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 58) in a HUVEC permeability assay that is used to model vascular leakage in vitro. HUVEC cells are grown on tissue culture inserts and when the monolayer is intact, FITC-dextran beads added to the upper chamber are unable to diffuse through the cell layer to the lower chamber. Increased permeability with a dose-response relationship was observed when cells were treated 5 pM, 50 pM, 500 pM, 5 nM, and 50 nM of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58. In contrast, no detectable vascular leak was detected with C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 over the same concentrations (
C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 43 Shows Reduced Lethality in Mice and is Better Tolerated in Surviving Mice than C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 58.
To assess toxicity in vivo, mice were treated daily with C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43. All mice treated with 32 μg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 died on day 3 of treatment after receiving 2 doses of drug. When 32 μg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 was given to mice daily, 3 mice died on day 3, but 2 mice survived 1-2 additional doses. At a daily dose 3.2-fold lower, all mice receiving 10 μg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 lost weight and died, but no mortality or weight loss was observed in mice receiving 10 μg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 (
V6A Mutation does not Affect In Vitro Killing Activity of CD25+ Cells or Anti-Tumor Activity of C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 43 in B16F10 In Vivo in a Murine Melanoma Model.
The inventors evaluated the IC50 of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 against HUT-102 T cell lymphoma cells which are CD25 receptor-positive and found the IC50 to be 3.5 pM (mean of three determinations). The inventors also tested an aliquot of E. coli-derived classic Ontak and found that its IC50 for the same cell line is 1.8 pM (mean of two determinations,
Alignment of DNA sequences comparing SEQ ID NO: 7 [denileukin diftitox-VLM described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,865,866] with SEQ ID NO: 8 [is-denileukin diftitox-VLM of the present invention] demonstrates SEQ ID NO: 8 is missing a codon (three bases) in line 1381-1437.
The first amino acid of a mature active diphtheria toxin related fusion protein of the present invention is a glycine as shown in bold (amino acid 1) in SEQ ID NOs: 13 and 15. The signal sequence within SEQ ID NO: 4 is labeled with negative numbers, counting back from the first glycine of the mature fusion protein and has the following amino acid sequence MSRKLFASILIGALLGIGAPPSAHA (SEQ ID NO: 22). The signal sequence is shown in SEQ ID NOs: 11 and 12 and is underlined. The mature secreted diphtheria toxin fusion protein includes a diphtheria toxin portion, such as Gly1-His387, and a target receptor binding domain, such as an IL-2 protein from Ala388-Thr520 in SEQ ID NO: 3. Other target receptor binding domains used in the present invention that may be fused to a diphtheria toxin protein (or functional part thereof) include IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, EGF, FGF, substance P, CD4, αMSH, GRP, TT fragment C, GCSF, heregulin β1, TNFα, TGFβ, among others, or a combination thereof. SEQ ID NO: 10 describes c-denileukin diftitox that is not secreted and is requires purification from inclusion bodies in E. coli. SEQ ID NO: 12 describes immature secreted is-denileukin diftitox with a signal sequence. SEQ ID NO: 13 describes MS-denileukin diftitox wherein the signal sequence has been cleaved off during the process of secretion to the extracellular space.
MSRKLFASILIGALLGIGAPPSAHA
GADDVVDSSKSFVMENFSSYHGTKP
GADDVVDSSKSFVMENFSSYHGTKP
MSRKLFASILIGALLGIGAPPSAHAGADDVADSSKSFVMENFSSYHGTKP
GADDVADSSKSFVMENFSSYHGTKP
Protein Alignment of SEQ ID NO: 16 is denileukin diftitox-VLM described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,865,866 that has an extra amino acid (L) at position 445 when compared with SEQ ID NO: 14 is-denileukin diftitox-VLM of the present invention.
The method using Fe-independent, secreted expression of proteins related to diphtheria toxin described above has several commercial applications in addition to the use of the method to express s-denileukin diftitox. The method can be used to improve (enhance) expression (yield) of:
The wild type Diphtheria toxin (SEQ ID NO: 11) used to make diphtheria toxO id, a vaccine for diphtheria which is present in DTP, TDaP, and other combination vaccines may be made using the DNA expression vector of the present invention. The DNA segment encoding SEQ ID NO: 11 may be placed in the DNA expression vector of the present invention and located downstream of the ToxP/mutant ToxO.
CRM197 and CR107 are mutant proteins of full-length diphtheria toxin which are highly immunogenic but are completely devoid of toxin activity. They are used as carriers for several polysaccharide conjugate vaccines. For example, Wyeth and Pfizer took advantage of this immunogenicity in the 1990s when it conjugated seven polysaccharides from Streptococcus pneumoniae to CRM197 to create the original Prevnar vaccine which was FDA approved in February 2000. A 13-polysaccharides Prevnar was FDA-approved in 2010. The meningococcal vaccine Menveo, from Novartis, is four Neisseria meningitidis polysaccharides plus CRM197. This vaccine gained FDA approval in 2010. The cancer immunotherapy company Imugene (ASX: IMU) reported dramatic improvements in antibody titers from its B cell peptide cancer immunotherapy targeting HER2 when it used CRM197 as a carrier protein. CRM197 is also being evaluated as a potential drug delivery protein. The Swiss-based Turing Pharmaceuticals is working on CRM197 fusion constructs with therapeutic proteins of up to 1,000 amino acids in length. The DNA expression vectors of the present invention maybe used to produce CRM 197 and CRM 107. One or more of the DNA segment(s) encoding SEQ ID NOs: 18-21 may be placed in the DNA expression vector of the present invention and located downstream of the ToxP/mutant ToxO.
Diphtheria Toxin Based Fusion Proteins with Cleavable Peptide or Protein Tags Used to Enhance Purification.
Cleavable peptide tags (such as His6 (SEQ ID NO: 23) or FLAG [DYKDDDDK] (SEQ ID NO: 24)) or protein tags (such as GST [glutathione S-transferase] or SUMO [Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier protein]) may be fused with specific protease cleavage sites to diphtheria toxin based fusion proteins. Affinity chromatography methods using antibodies or ligands which bind to the tag may be used for rapid purification of the tagged protein. Following purification, the specific cleavage site enables separation of the tag from the desired diphtheria toxin related proteins. Such fusions may enhance purification of diphtheria toxin based fusion proteins of the present invention.
Purification of VLM s-Ontak Using His-Tagged Versions of the Polypeptide
In some preparations of VLM s-Ontak produced in Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 slow proteolytic cleavage of the mature 520 amino acid polypeptide occurs. This is probably due to secreted proteases made by Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7. This proteolytic cleavage occurs at approximately amino acid 390 of the mature 520 amino acid VLM s-Ontak.
Histidine-tagged (His-tagged) versions of VLM s-Ontak have been constructed for the purpose of accelerating the purification of the desired protein away from the secreted proteases present in the culture supernatant. Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) nuclear-inclusion-a endopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.44) recognition sites have also been engineered into these His-tagged versions of VLM s-Ontak. The purpose of the TEV cleavage sites is to enable the removal of the poly-His sequences in the final preparation of VLM s-Ontak. TEV is a highly specific endopeptidase which recognizes the amino acid sequence ENLYFQ\X where ‘\’ denotes the cleaved peptide bond, and X represents any small hydrophobic or polar amino acid such as glycine (G) (SEQ ID NO: 49).
N-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak with TEV cleavage site. As shown in SEQ ID: 38 (Protein sequence of N terminal His tag to VLM s-Ontak) it is possible to add the amino sequence HHHHHHENLYFQ (SEQ ID NO: 50) to the immature protein sequence of VLM s-Ontak near its N-terminus. In this version, the sequence HHHHHHENLYFQ (SEQ ID NO: 50) appears immediately after the 26 amino acid signal sequence and immediately before the mature sequence of VLM s-Ontak (GADDVA (SEQ ID NO: 51)). The first glycine of VLM s-Ontak comprises the final recognition residue for the TEV protease which recognizes ENLYFQ\X (SEQ ID NO: 49) with X being any small amino acid. The mature, secreted protein sequence of this N-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak is shown in SEQ ID: 39 (Protein sequence of N terminal His tag to VLM s-Ontak after signal sequence is cleaved) which is a good candidate for Nickel-column affinity purification with its His6 tag (SEQ ID NO: 23). The affinity purified VLM s-Ontak may then be exposed to small amounts of pure TEV protease, leading to enzymatic proteolysis that removes the 13 N-terminal residues MHHHHHHENLYFQ (SEQ ID NO: 52) and releases mature, untagged VLM s-Ontak as is shown in SEQ ID NO: 40 (Protein sequence of N terminal His tag to VLM s-Ontak after signal sequence is cleaved and TEV site is cleaved).
Because the secreted protease(s) of Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 cleave at approximately amino acid 390, N-terminal His-tagging can lead to two species: full length desired VLM s-Ontak (520 amino acids) and a 390-amino acid N-terminal breakdown fragment. These two polypeptides, being relatively close in size (as well as molecular composition) are difficult to separate by size exclusion chromatography. Hence we have also developed C-terminal His-tagged version of VLM s-Ontak.
C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak without TEV cleavage site. As shown in SEQ ID NO: 42 (Protein sequence of C terminal His tag to VLM s-Ontak) it is possible to add the amino sequence HHHHHH (SEQ ID NO: 23) to the immature protein sequence of VLM s-Ontak at its C-terminus. In this version, the sequence HHHHHH (SEQ ID NO: 23) appears immediately after the C-terminal threonine of VLM s-Ontak ( . . . IISTLT (SEQ ID NO: 53)). The mature, secreted protein sequence of this C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak is shown in SEQ ID: 43 (Protein sequence of C terminal His tag to VLM s-Ontak after signal sequence is cleaved) which is a good candidate for Nickel-column affinity purification with its His6 tag (SEQ ID NO: 23).
C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak with TEV cleavage site. In order to avoid having the His6 sequence (SEQ ID NO: 23) in the final polypeptide sequence of the above version of VLM s-Ontak made by C-terminal His-tagging (SEQ ID: 43), it is possible to insert a TEV recognition sequence at the C-terminus to enable removal of the His-tag sequence. In this version, the sequence ENLYFQGHHHHHHHHH (SEQ ID NO: 54) appears immediately after the C-terminal threonine of VLM s-Ontak ( . . . IISTLT (SEQ ID NO: 53)). Since nickel affinity binding is enhanced by poly-His sequences even longer than six amino acids, it is possible to include nine His residues. The amino acid sequence of this C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak with TEV cleavage site is shown in SEQ ID: 45 (Protein sequence of C terminal TEV His9 tag (SEQ ID NO: 48) to VLM s-Ontak). The mature, secreted protein sequence of this C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak with TEV cleavage site is shown in SEQ ID: 46 (Protein sequence of C terminal TEV His9 tag (SEQ ID NO: 48) to VLM s-Ontak after signal sequence is cleaved) and is a good candidate for Nickel-column affinity purification with its His9 tag (SEQ ID NO: 48). The affinity purified VLM s-Ontak may then be exposed to small amounts of pure TEV protease, leading to enzymatic proteolysis that removes the 10 C-terminal residues GHHHHHHHHH (SEQ ID NO: 55), and releases mature, untagged VLM s-Ontak as is shown in SEQ ID: 30. Of note, this version of purified VLM s-Ontak (SEQ ID: 30) is 526 amino acids in length rather than 520 amino acids (SEQ ID NO: 15) because it contains six additional amino acids of the TEV protease recognition sequence (ENLYFQ (SEQ ID NO: 56) fused to the usual C-terminus threonine of VLM s-Ontak ( . . . IISTLT (SEQ ID NO: 53)). The end result of this version of C-terminal His-tagged VLM s-Ontak with TEV cleavage site (SEQ ID: 30) is a C-terminal sequence . . . IISTLTENLYFQ (SEQ ID NO: 57).
Manufacturing method for VLM s-Ontak which include His-tags and TEV protease sites. The above three His-tag versions of VLM s-Ontak (N-terminal His6 tag (SEQ ID NO: 23) with TEV protease site, C-terminal His6 tag (SEQ ID NO: 23) without TEV protease site, and C-terminal His9 (SEQ ID NO: 48) tag with TEV protease site) are examples of methods to use His-tag/Nickel column affinity chromatography in the manufacturing method of VLM s-Ontak. Because of secreted proteases from Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 that are present in the culture supernatant, it is important to purify VLM s-Ontak away from other proteins in the culture supernatant rapidly in order to avoid significant loss of the desired product. The inclusion of His-tags and TEV protease sites represents a significant improvement and may enable a rapid, streamlined manufacturing process for VLM s-Ontak
Generation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 lacking key secreted proteases for improved manufacturing of VLM s-Ontak. The genome sequence of Corynebacterium diphtheriae C7 reveals two secreted proteases: Protease 1 is NCBI Reference Sequence WP_014318592.1 (SEQ ID: 32, 33) and Protease 2 is NCBI Reference Sequence WP_014318898.1 (SEQ ID: 35, 36). These proteases may be genetically deleted using the method of Ton-That and Scheewind (Ton-That H, Schneewind O. Assembly of pili on the surface of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Mol Microbiol. 2003 November; 50(4):1429-38. PubMed PMID: 14622427) and also Allen and Schmitt (Allen C E, Schmitt M P. HtaA is an iron-regulated hemin binding protein involved in the utilization of heme iron in Corynebacterium diphtheriae. J Bacteriol. 2009 April; 191(8):2638-48. PubMed PMID: 19201805). The allelic exchange substrates to knock out protease 1 and protease 2 are shown in SEQ ID: 34 and SEQ ID: 37, respectively. These sequences when inserted into pk18mobsacB, a conjugative, mating plasmid with sacB counterselection (Schafer A, Tauch A, Jäger W, Kalinowski J, Thierbach G, Pühler A (1994) Small mobilizable multi-purpose cloning vectors derived from the Escherichia coli plasmids pK18 and pK19: selection of defined deletions in the chromosome of Corynebacterium glutumicum. Gene 145:69-73. PMID: 8045426), lead to constructs which will knockout each protease. A recombinant Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain lacking both protease 1 and protease 2 will be a valuable production strain for future manufacturing methods to generate VLM s-Ontak.
Using the DNA plasmids and expression vectors of the present invention, a novel process was discovered eliminating the problems associated with the conventional method of manufacturing Ontak®. Ontak® is currently expressed using a DNA vector in an E. coli expression system. c-denileukin diftitox or Ontak® is 521 amino acids in length and has a molecular weight of 58 kD. The conventional Ontak® manufacturing process results in the formation of Ontak® aggregates of heterogeneous molecular weight, residual DNA, and excessive residual detergent in the final formulation resulting in the FDA placing classic-Ontak® on clinical hold in June 2011. As observed in
The novel process of the present invention comprises: 1) transforming bacteria, preferably a Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain, with a DNA expression vector of the present invention, 2) forming a transformant; 3) incubating the transformant in a culture medium for a period of time to allow growth and expression of a protein (such as a diphtheria toxin-based fusion protein and CRM typically containing a signal peptide), 4) secretion of the protein into the culture medium (due to a signal peptide attached to the protein); and (8) purifying the diphtheria toxin-based fusion protein from the culture medium. The DNA expression vectors include a ToxP and mutant ToxO that regulate the expression of at least one protein, such as a diphtheria toxin fusion protein, CRM protein, or other protein that may be attached to a signal peptide of the present invention.
Clinical efficacy of Ontak® has been demonstrated in cutaneous T cell lymphoma, peripheral T cell lymphoma, steroid-refractory graft versus host disease, methotrexate-refractory psoriasis, and methotrexate-refractory rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical efficacy has also been demonstrated in malignant melanoma and ovarian carcinoma as shown in
As illustrated in
Tregs have also been shown to inhibit anti-tumor immunity, and the cellular expansion of Tregs in tumors generally correlates with poor prognosis in patients. Denileukin diftitox treatment in melanoma patients resulted in transient depletion of Tregs and increased 1 year median overall survival. s-denileukin diftitox and s-denileukin diftitox-VLM of the present invention will be used to deplete Tregs in patients with tumors heavily infiltrated with Tregs as a cancer immunotherapy.
Immune checkpoints are inhibitory pathways that are necessary to prevent autoimmunity but can also dampen beneficial anti-tumor immune responses. Antibody-mediated blockade with checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) of these pathways, especially of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction, has shown remarkable long-term efficacy in clinical trials for a subset of cancer patients. However, a number of CPI-treated patients eventually exhibit disease progression and/or treatment refractory disease, and this suggests that additional targets or combinatorial drug regimens may be required to improve clinical outcomes. Denileukin diftitox, or E. coli-derived classic Ontak, is a diphtheria fusion toxin approved for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma by directly targeting cancer cells. Additionally, E. coli-derived classic Ontak can transiently deplete regulatory T cells (Tregs) in vivo and has been found to induce tumor regression in patients with metastatic melanoma. The inventors hypothesized that by depleting Tregs, C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 would inhibit B16 melanoma tumor growth and enhance the effector T cell response induced by anti-PD-1 treatment. The inventors found that C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 (as well as C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58) treatment inhibits tumor growth of established tumors to a greater degree than monotherapy with anti-PD-1 treatment or monotherapy alone and led to increased tumor infiltration by IFNγ+CD8+ lymphocytes. When treatment was delayed, both anti-PD-1 and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 (as well as C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58) monotherapy were no longer effective, however sequential therapy of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 (as well as C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58) followed by anti-PD-1 treatment was still able to inhibit tumor growth and was superior to either agent alone. Taken together, these data indicate that C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 induces antitumor immune responses and shows promise as a cancer immunotherapy both alone and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) is a diphtheria fusion toxin that directly targets and kills high-affinity IL-2 receptor (CD25) positive cells and is used for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). Previous work has shown that E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) can also transiently deplete Tregs, which also express high-affinity IL-2 receptor (Rasku M A, Clem A L, Telang S, Taft B, Gettings K, Gragg H, et al. Transient T cell depletion causes regression of melanoma metastases. J Transl Med. 2008; 6(12). PMID: 18334033). The inventors sought to determine whether depletion of Tregs by C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 could inhibit tumor growth in a murine model of melanoma. Additionally, the inventors assessed whether C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 could enhance immune checkpoint blockade, specifically anti-PD-1. The inventors hypothesized that as anti-PD-1 mainly acts to reverse effector T cell (Teff) exhaustion, that depletion of Tregs by C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO 15 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO 43 (or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO 13 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO 58) would remove another mode of immune suppression and improve upon anti-PD-1 anti-tumor activity.
C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID 43 and C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 58 Inhibit Tumor Growth and Increases the Frequency of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs).
Although E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) is an FDA approved drug, it has been placed on clinical hold because of misfolded protein aggregates and detergent contaminating the final formulation. C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43, C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 15, C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58, and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 13 are novel fusion toxins made with a production method that produces fully folded, active proteins and do not require detergent-treatment to refold the protein. C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 and C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 produced by the inventors showed comparable activity to the commercial drug and effectively depleted splenic Tregs in vivo (
C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID 43 and C. diphtheriae-Derived SEQ ID NO: 58 Enhance Anti-Tumor Activity of PD-1 Blockade.
While PD-1 blockade results in reversal of Teff cell exhaustion, tumor Treg frequencies remain unchanged by treatment (Erdag G, Schaefer J T, Smolkin M E, Deacon D H, Shea S M, Dengel L T, et al. Immunotype and Immunohistologic Characteristics of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells Are Associated with Clinical Outcome in Metastatic Melanoma. Cancer Res. 2012; 72(5):1070-81. PMID: 22266112). To determine whether Treg depletion could augment anti-PD-1 anti-tumor activity, mice with established B16F10 tumors were given C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 on day 7 post tumor injection and anti-PD-1 treatment was initiated 24 hrs later. Sequential therapy was given to avoid C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58-mediated clearance of Teff that upregulate CD25 upon activation. C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 monotherapy was more effective in inhibiting tumor growth than anti-PD1 treatment, and when sequential therapy was given, the inventors observed tumor reduction greater than that seen with either monotherapy alone (
These data show that Treg depletion by either C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 coupled with PD-1 blockade leads to potent anti-tumor activity superior to monotherapy with anti-PD-1 alone or to C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 given as monotherapy. The dual therapy is robust, giving potent tumor suppression even when therapy is delayed to day 10 post-tumor cell injection. Not to be held to a particular theory,
Unlike the present invention Padron et al. (Age effects of distinct immune checkpoint blockade treatments in a mouse melanoma model. Experimental Gerontology. Published online 28 Dec. 2017 doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.025) did not see the same tumor-inhibitory activity of the present invention. Padron et al. reported a comparative analysis of combination therapies of three checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD1, anti-PDL1, and anti-CTLA4) together with E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) in the mouse B16F10 melanoma model and found no improvement in tumor volume responses to checkpoint inhibitor therapy when E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) was added as dual therapy.
Padron et al. treated mice intraperitoneally (IP) with a checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) plus E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10, 3 mg per mouse per dose) simultaneously every 5 days starting on day 7 post-tumor challenge. There are many substantial differences between Padron et al.'s method of treating mice IP with E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) and the methods of the present invention. For example, Padron et al. simultaneously provided E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) and specific checkpoint inhibitors to mice resulting in no improvement in tumor volume response. The inventors of the present invention made a surprising discovery by administering to a subject a first agent that depletes a subject's Tregs (such as C. diphtheriae derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or as C. diphtheriae derived SEQ ID NO: 58) followed by administering to the subject a second agent that is a checkpoint inhibitor (such as anti-PD-1), thereby improving tumor volume response. Also, Padron et al. teaches the use of E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10) which contains ˜40% inactive protein aggregates whereas the methods of the present invention used C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 15, C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43, C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 13, or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 (which are fully active, monomeric polypeptides). Unlike Padron et al., the methods of the present invention used 5 mg or in some instance 10 mg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 while Padron et al. teaches the use of 3 mg of E. coli-derived classic Ontak (SEQ ID NO: 10). The methods of the present invention use a single initial course of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 with two doses on day 7/day 10 or day 8/day 11 or day 10/day 13 followed by twice weekly CPI until the end of the experiment.
The incorporation of the native diphtheria tox promoter with mutant tox operator sequences allow for the constitutive expression of tox gene products in medium that contains high concentrations of iron. This is in contrast to constructs that carry the wild type tox operator sequence, a 19 bp inverted palindromic sequence immediately downstream from the tox promoter. In the case of the wild type tox operator, the iron activated diphtheria tox repressor, DtxR, binds to the operator and represses the expression of tox gene products. The activation of apo-DtxR by iron causes the repressor to bind to the tox operator and repress expression of tox. When iron becomes the growth rate limiting substrate, iron disassociates from the repressor and apo-DtxR no longer binds to the tox operator, thereby allowing derepression of tox and the production of tox gene products. Accordingly, the incorporation of mutant tox operator sequences into each of the fusion protein toxin genetic constructs (SEQ ID NO: 2) allows for their constitutive expression and secretion into the culture medium in moderate yield.
The inventors also studied expression of s-Ontak-related proteins in the C. diphtheriae C7(−) ΔdtxR mutant strain. There is some overlap between the −10 promoter consensus sequence and the inverted repeats that form the tox operator. Considering this the inventors studied whether expression of s-Ontak-related proteins would be increased by using the ΔdtxR mutant strain with the wild type promoter-operator sequences. As may be seen in
The diphtheria toxin-related fusion protein toxins described in this application all carry the native diphtheria toxin translocation domain. This domain is largely hydrophobic and as such under conditions of high salt (1M NaCl) allows the binding of these proteins to Phenyl-Sepharose chromatography (hydrophobic interaction chromatography, HIC) medium. These proteins then are partially purified by employing a reverse gradient reducing the salt concentration in the elution buffer. In the case of s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A (SEQ ID NO: 15), the fusion protein toxin is eluted from the matrix at a salt concentration of 100 mM NaCl, and showed partial enrichment (
In addition, Mimetic Blue affinity chromatography is used to selectively bind proteins that contain interleukin 2 sequences. In this instance, s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A (SEQ ID NO: 15), and related mutant proteins selectively bind to the Mimetic Blue and are eluted from the matrix by an increasing gradient of NaCl in Tris-HCl buffer at pH 7.0. In these instances, IL-2 is selectively bound to Mimetic Blus resin and is eluted from the column matrix when the concentration of NaCl in the eluate reaches approximately 600 mM.
Combinations of HIC, Mimetic Blue chromatography, and ion-exchange chromatography are promising methods to purify s-Ontak-related proteins which lack His6-tags and to avoid the use of nickel column chromatography.
The inventors have shown that treatment of murine models of melanoma (B16F10) and triple negative breast cancer (4T1) with s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) result in a transient depletion of activated T regulatory cells in the tumor microenvironment. For example, in the case of established 4T1 tumors in the mammary fat pad, within 3 days following the administration of s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) the inventors have found a 71% reduction of activated Tregs in the tumor (see
Early clinical trials with s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) or related proteins may therefore find it attractive to use depletion of circulating Treg cells as a biomarker for drug efficacy.
Fully Sequential Dual Therapy of s-Ontak-Related Proteins with Anti-PD1 Leads to Potent Anti-Tumor Effects.
Previously disclosed data on dual sequential therapy of s-Ontak-related proteins with anti-PD1 used treatment regimens in mice in which dosing of the s-Ontak-related proteins overlapped with the anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitor (
The inventors further observed that dual sequential therapy was active in the B16 melanoma model even when therapy was started late (day 10 post-tumor implantation) as may be seen in
s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) is Active in Three Additional Tumor Types in Mice in Addition to Melanoma
The inventors demonstrated that s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) has potent anti-tumor activity as monotherapy in three mouse tumor models: (i) syngeneic CT26 colon carcinoma (
The inventors also demonstrated that s-DAB1-389-IL2-V6A-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) has potent anti-tumor activity as dual sequential therapy with anti-PD1 in two mouse tumor models: (i) syngeneic CT26 colon carcinoma (
D3E Substitution Leads to More Stable s-Ontak-Related Proteins and Results in Prolonged Half-Life, Reduced Vascular Leak, Retained Potency, and Higher Expression Levels in C. diphtheriae C7(−).
A major part of this invention is the discovery that the D3E mutant version of s-Ontak is associated with (i) prolonged half-life, (ii) reduced vascular leak, (iii) high potency (84% as active as s-Ontak), and (iv) 4-fold higher expression in C. diphtheriae C7(−).
The inventors used protein structure algorithms, which are based on the 3-dimensional crystal structure of full-length diphtheria toxin. In particular, the inventors focused on the vascular leak associated-tripeptide motif (x)D(y) where x is valine, isoleucine, leucine, or glycine and y is serine, leucine, or valine. The sequence of s-Ontak contains two such (x)D(y) motifs near its amino terminus: V6D7S8 and V28D29S30.
As may be seen in
Indeed, the inventors found that s-Ontak-D3E-His6 (Tm=45.5) had greater thermal stability than s-Ontak-His6 (Tm 43.0) and s-Ontak-V6A-His6 (Tm 40.0) as shown in
Expression of s-Ontak-D3E-His6 in C. diphtheriae C7(−) was ˜4-fold greater than that of s-Ontak (
The inventors found that s-Ontak-D3E-His6 showed high potency for killing CD25+ cells with 84% of the activity of s-Ontak-His6, while s-Ontak-V6A-His6 demonstrated killing activity that was 20% of that of s-Ontak-His6 (
Using peptides to study vascular leak by HUVEC permeation assay, the inventors observed that in addition to V6A and D3E substation, alteration of the second VDS sequence (V28D29S30) with a D29E substitution also resulted in reduced vascular leak (
Overall, the use of D3E substitution offers a promising avenue towards making s-Ontak-related proteins with (i) prolonged half-life, (ii) reduced vascular leak, (iii) and high potency. D3E substituted s-Ontak related proteins also demonstrate higher expression in C. diphtheriae C7(−) and therefore may be easier to manufacture.
s-DAB1-389-mIL4-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 134) and Related Proteins are Active in Killing CD124 Positive Cells Including Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs) and Tumors that Bear CD124 (e.g., Triple Negative Breast Cancer, TNBC)
The inventors used their C. diphtheriae expression system to generate s-DAB1-389-mIL4-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 134) as may be seen in
s-DAB1-389-mIL4-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 134) showed potent anti-tumor activity as monotherapy in the orthotopic mouse model of 4T1 triple negative breast cancer, where it showed clear-cut dose dependent tumor inhibition (
The inventors tested the combination of s-DAB1-389-mIL4-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 134) followed by s-DAB1-389-IL2-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 43) in the orthotopic mouse model of 4T1 triple negative breast cancer. The two agents showed additive effects as measured by tumor volume and tumor weight (
Overall, s-DAB1-389-mIL4-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 134) is a promising agent to deplete MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment (MDSCs are known to inhibit anti-tumor immunity) as well as tumors that express CD124 (such as triple negative breast cancer).
s-DAB1-389-EGF-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 106) and Related Proteins are Active in Killing EGFR Positive Cells
The inventors used their C. diphtheriae expression system to generate s-DAB1-389-EGF-His6 (SEQ ID NO: 106) as may be seen in
C57BL/6 mice were purchased from the Charles Rivers Laboratory, and animal studies were performed according to IACUC approved protocols at Johns Hopkins University. Mice were administered 2 doses of 5 μg of C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 43 or C. diphtheriae-derived SEQ ID NO: 58 preceding checkpoint inhibitor therapy by intraperitoneal injection in a volume of 100 μl on specified days. For melanoma experiments, mice were given subcutaneous injections of 1×105 B16F10 cells in the right flank. 100 μg per mouse per dose of anti-mouse PD1 antibody (clone J43 purchased from Bio X Cell, Cat #BE0033-2) was given IP in a volume of 100 μl on specified days. Tumors were measured by electronic caliper, and tumor volume was calculated using the following equation: tumor volume=length×width×height 0.5326. Mice were sacrificed at specified time points, and lymph nodes, spleens and tumors were isolated. Single cell suspensions were prepared by dissociation through 100 μm filters.
Materials and Methods. Flow Cytometry and Cell Stimulations
Single cell suspensions were stained for viability using the LIVE/DEAD Fixable Aqua Dead Cell Stain Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Cells were incubated with Purified Rat Anti-mouse CD16/32 (BD) and labeled in FACS buffer (PBS, 2% heat-inactivated FBS, 0.1% HEPES, 0.1%) sodium azide) with the following antibodies (BD unless otherwise noted): Ax700 anti-CD8, APC anti-CD4, and BV421 CD25. Intracellular staining was performed using the Transcription Buffer Set (BD Biosciences) according to manufacturer's protocol and labeled with FITC FoxP3. For in vitro stimulations, cells were incubated with PMA (50 ng/mL) and ionomycin (1 μM) with Golgistop (BD) for 4 hours at 37° C. Surface staining was performed as above, and intracellular staining was performed with the Fixation/Permeabilization Solution Kit (BD) according to manufacturer's protocol and labeled with FITC IFNγ. Samples were acquired on an LSRII (BD) and data was analyzed using FlowJo (Tree Star).
Nucleic Acid and Protein Sequences of s-Ontak-His6 (“His6” Disclosed as SEQ ID NO: 23)
Protein Sequence of C. diphtheriae derived s-Ontak-His6 (“His6” disclosed as SEQ ID NO: 23) (theoretical MW 58339) (IL2 portion in Boldface) (SEQ ID NO: 58):
LEHLLLDLQMILNGINNYKNPKLTR
MLTEKEYMPKKATELKHLQCLEEEL
KPLEEVLNLAQSKNEHLRPRDLISN
INVIVLELKGSETTFMCEYADETAT
IVEFLNRWITFCQSIISTLTHHHHH
H
DNA sequence for C. diphtheriae-derived s-Ontak-His6 (“His6” disclosed as SEQ ID NO: 23) (SEQ ID NO: 59). Alterations to promoter/operator are starred with boldface. The underlined portion encodes the signal sequence. The first codon of mature s-Ontak-His6 (“His6” disclosed as SEQ ID NO: 23) begins at base 149 in larger font and italicized. The codons for the C-terminal His6 (“His6” disclosed as SEQ ID NO: 23) begin at base 1709 in larger font and italicized.
TTAATAGGGGCGCTACTGGGGATAGGGGCCCCACCTTCAGCCCATGCA
GG
CGCTGATGATGTTGTTGATTCTTCTAAATCTTTTGTGATGGAAAACTTTT
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the described elements of the invention in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
Embodiments of the disclosure concern methods and/or compositions for treating and/or preventing disorders such as cancer and tuberculosis in which a subject is administered a composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof.
An individual known to having disease such as cancer and/or tuberculosis, suspected of having such a disease, or at risk for having such a disease may be provided an effective amount of a composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof. Those at risk for cancer or tuberculosis may be those individuals having one or more genetic factors, may be of advancing age, and/or may have a family history, for example.
In particular embodiments of the disclosure, an individual is given an agent for cancer and/or tuberculosis therapy in addition to a composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof. Such additional therapy may include chemotherapy or antimicrobial agents, for example. When combination therapy is employed with a composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, the additional therapy may be given prior to, at the same time as, and/or subsequent to a composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof
Pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention comprise an effective amount of one or more composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, dissolved or dispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The phrases “pharmaceutical or pharmacologically acceptable” refers to molecular entities and compositions that do not produce an adverse, allergic or other untoward reaction when administered to an animal, such as, for example, a human, as appropriate. The preparation of a pharmaceutical composition that comprises at least one composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, or additional active ingredient will be known to those of skill in the art in light of the present disclosure, as exemplified by Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 21st Ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005, incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, for animal (e.g., human) administration, it will be understood that preparations should meet sterility, pyrogenicity, general safety and purity standards as required by FDA Office of Biological Standards.
As used herein, “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings, surfactants, antioxidants, preservatives (e.g., antibacterial agents, antifungal agents), isotonic agents, absorption delaying agents, salts, preservatives, drugs, drug stabilizers, gels, binders, excipients, disintegration agents, lubricants, sweetening agents, flavoring agents, dyes, such like materials and combinations thereof, as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art (see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th Ed. Mack Printing Company, 1990, pp. 1289-1329, incorporated herein by reference). Except insofar as any conventional carrier is incompatible with the active ingredient, its use in the pharmaceutical compositions is contemplated.
The one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, may comprise different types of carriers depending on whether it is to be administered in solid, liquid or aerosol form, and whether it need to be sterile for such routes of administration as injection. The present compositions can be administered intravenously, intradermally, transdermally, intrathecally, intraarterially, intraperitoneally, intranasally, intravaginally, intrarectally, topically, intramuscularly, subcutaneously, mucosally, orally, topically, locally, inhalation (e.g., aerosol inhalation), injection, infusion, continuous infusion, localized perfusion bathing target cells directly, via a catheter, via a lavage, in cremes, in lipid compositions (e.g., liposomes), or by other method or any combination of the forgoing as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art (see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th Ed. Mack Printing Company, 1990, incorporated herein by reference).
The one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as any one of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, may be formulated into a composition in a free base, neutral or salt form. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts, include the acid addition salts, e.g., those formed with the free amino groups of a proteinaceous composition, or which are formed with inorganic acids such as for example, hydrochloric or phosphoric acids, or such organic acids as acetic, oxalic, tartaric or mandelic acid. Salts formed with the free carboxyl groups can also be derived from inorganic bases such as for example, sodium, potassium, ammonium, calcium or ferric hydroxides; or such organic bases as isopropylamine, trimethylamine, histidine or procaine. Upon formulation, solutions will be administered in a manner compatible with the dosage formulation and in such amount as is therapeutically effective. The formulations are easily administered in a variety of dosage forms such as formulated for parenteral administrations such as injectable solutions, or aerosols for delivery to the lungs, or formulated for alimentary administrations such as drug release capsules and the like.
Further in accordance with the present disclosure, the composition of the present invention suitable for administration is provided in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier with or without an inert diluent. The carrier should be assimilable and includes liquid, semi-solid, i.e., pastes, or solid carriers. Except insofar as any conventional media, agent, diluent or carrier is detrimental to the recipient or to the therapeutic effectiveness of a composition contained therein, its use in administrable composition for use in practicing the methods of the present invention is appropriate. Examples of carriers or diluents include fats, oils, water, saline solutions, lipids, liposomes, resins, binders, fillers and the like, or combinations thereof. The composition may also comprise various antioxidants to retard oxidation of one or more component. Additionally, the prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about by preservatives such as various antibacterial and antifungal agents, including but not limited to parabens (e.g., methylparabens, propylparabens), chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, thimerosal or combinations thereof.
In accordance with the present invention, the composition is combined with the carrier in any convenient and practical manner, i.e., by solution, suspension, emulsification, admixture, encapsulation, absorption and the like. Such procedures are routine for those skilled in the art.
In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the composition is combined or mixed thoroughly with a semi-solid or solid carrier. The mixing can be carried out in any convenient manner such as grinding. Stabilizing agents can be also added in the mixing process in order to protect the composition from loss of therapeutic activity, i.e., denaturation in the stomach. Examples of stabilizers for use in an the composition include buffers, amino acids such as glycine and lysine, carbohydrates such as dextrose, mannose, galactose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, sorbitol, mannitol, etc.
In further embodiments, the present invention may concern the use of a pharmaceutical lipid vehicle composition that includes one or more composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, one or more lipids, and an aqueous solvent. As used herein, the term “lipid” will be defined to include any of a broad range of substances that is characteristically insoluble in water and extractable with an organic solvent. This broad class of compounds are well known to those of skill in the art, and as the term “lipid” is used herein, it is not limited to any particular structure. Examples include compounds which contain long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives. A lipid may be naturally occurring or synthetic (i.e., designed or produced by man). However, a lipid is usually a biological substance. Biological lipids are well known in the art, and include for example, neutral fats, phospholipids, phosphoglycerides, steroids, terpenes, lysolipids, glycosphingolipids, glycolipids, sulphatides, lipids with ether and ester-linked fatty acids and polymerizable lipids, and combinations thereof. Of course, compounds other than those specifically described herein that are understood by one of skill in the art as lipids are also encompassed by the compositions and methods of the present invention.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be familiar with the range of techniques that can be employed for dispersing a composition in a lipid vehicle. For example, the one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof may be dispersed in a solution containing a lipid, dissolved with a lipid, emulsified with a lipid, mixed with a lipid, combined with a lipid, covalently bonded to a lipid, contained as a suspension in a lipid, contained or complexed with a micelle or liposome, or otherwise associated with a lipid or lipid structure by any means known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The dispersion may or may not result in the formation of liposomes.
The actual dosage amount of a composition of the present invention administered to an animal patient can be determined by physical and physiological factors such as body weight, severity of condition, the type of disease being treated, previous or concurrent therapeutic interventions, idiopathy of the patient and on the route of administration. Depending upon the dosage and the route of administration, the number of administrations of a preferred dosage and/or an effective amount may vary according to the response of the subject. The practitioner responsible for administration will, in any event, determine the concentration of active ingredient(s) in a composition and appropriate dose(s) for the individual subject.
In certain embodiments, pharmaceutical compositions may comprise, for example, at least about 0.1% of an active compound. In other embodiments, an active compound may comprise between about 2% to about 75% of the weight of the unit, or between about 25% to about 60%, for example, and any range derivable therein. Naturally, the amount of active compound(s) in each therapeutically useful composition may be prepared is such a way that a suitable dosage will be obtained in any given unit dose of the compound. Factors such as solubility, bioavailability, biological half-life, route of administration, product shelf life, as well as other pharmacological considerations will be contemplated by one skilled in the art of preparing such pharmaceutical formulations, and as such, a variety of dosages and treatment regimens may be desirable.
In other non-limiting examples, a dose may also comprise from about 1 microgram/kg/body weight, about 5 microgram/kg/body weight, about 10 microgram/kg/body weight, about 50 microgram/kg/body weight, about 100 microgram/kg/body weight, about 200 microgram/kg/body weight, about 350 microgram/kg/body weight, about 500 microgram/kg/body weight, about 1 milligram/kg/body weight, about 5 milligram/kg/body weight, about 10 milligram/kg/body weight, about 50 milligram/kg/body weight, about 100 milligram/kg/body weight, about 200 milligram/kg/body weight, about 350 milligram/kg/body weight, about 500 milligram/kg/body weight, to about 1000 mg/kg/body weight or more per administration, and any range derivable therein. In non-limiting examples of a derivable range from the numbers listed herein, a range of about 5 mg/kg/body weight to about 100 mg/kg/body weight, about 5 microgram/kg/body weight to about 500 milligram/kg/body weight, etc., can be administered, based on the numbers described above.
In further embodiments, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention as described in any of the previous embodiments comprises greater than about 80% purity of a polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises greater than about 81%, greater than about 82%, greater than about 83%, greater than about 84%, greater than about 85%, greater than about 86%, greater than about 87%, greater than about 88%, greater than about 89%, greater than about 90%, greater than about 91%, greater than about 92%, greater than about 93%, greater than about 94%, greater than about 95%, greater than about 95%, greater than about 96%, greater than about 97%, greater than about 98%, greater than about 99%, or about 100% purity of a polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises about 80%, about 81%, about 82%, about 83%, about 84%, about 85%, about 86%, about 87%, about 88%, about 89%, about 90%, about 91%, about 92%, about 93%, about 94%, about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98%, about 99%, or about 100% purity of a polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises from about 80% to about 100%, from about 80% to about 97%, from about 80% to about 95%, from about 80% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 85%, from about 85% to about 100%, from about 85% to about 97%, from about 85% to about 95%, from about 85% to about 90%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 97%, from about 90% to about 95%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 95% to about 97% purity of a polypeptide of the invention, or any other range thereof.
In further embodiments, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention as described in any of the previous embodiments comprises greater than about 80% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises greater than about 81%, greater than about 82%, greater than about 83%, greater than about 84%, greater than about 85%, greater than about 86%, greater than about 87%, greater than about 88%, greater than about 89%, greater than about 90%, greater than about 91%, greater than about 92%, greater than about 93%, greater than about 94%, greater than about 95%, greater than about 95%, greater than about 96%, greater than about 97%, greater than about 98%, greater than about 99%, or about 100% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises about 80%, about 81%, about 82%, about 83%, about 84%, about 85%, about 86%, about 87%, about 88%, about 89%, about 90%, about 91%, about 92%, about 93%, about 94%, about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98%, about 99%, or about 100% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide of the invention. In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises from about 80% to about 100%, from about 80% to about 97%, from about 80% to about 95%, from about 80% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 85%, from about 85% to about 100%, from about 85% to about 97%, from about 85% to about 95%, from about 85% to about 90%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 97%, from about 90% to about 95%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 95% to about 97% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide of the invention, or any other range thereof.
In further embodiments, a pharmaceutical composition of the invention comprises greater than about 80% purity of a polypeptide of the invention (or any other range or amount described herein) and greater than about 80% aggregate-free, full-length, monomeric polypeptide of the invention (or any other range or amount described herein).
In further embodiments, a polypeptide of such pharmaceutical compositions comprises a histidine (His) tag. In some embodiments, the His tag has six or nine His residues. In other embodiments, the His tag is at the C-terminus of the polypeptide. In other embodiments, a polypeptide of such pharmaceutical compositions does not comprise a His tag.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, are formulated to be administered via an alimentary route. Alimentary routes include all possible routes of administration in which the composition is in direct contact with the alimentary tract. Specifically, the pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein may be administered orally, buccally, rectally, or sublingually. As such, these compositions may be formulated with an inert diluent or with an assimilable edible carrier, or they may be enclosed in hard- or soft-shell gelatin capsule, or they may be compressed into tablets, or they may be incorporated directly with the food of the diet.
In certain embodiments, the active compounds may be incorporated with excipients and used in the form of ingestible tablets, buccal tables, troches, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups, wafers, and the like (Mathiowitz et al., 1997; Hwang et al., 1998; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,641,515; 5,580,579 and 5,792, 451, each specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The tablets, troches, pills, capsules and the like may also contain the following: a binder, such as, for example, gum tragacanth, acacia, cornstarch, gelatin or combinations thereof; an excipient, such as, for example, dicalcium phosphate, mannitol, lactose, starch, magnesium stearate, sodium saccharine, cellulose, magnesium carbonate or combinations thereof; a disintegrating agent, such as, for example, corn starch, potato starch, alginic acid or combinations thereof; a lubricant, such as, for example, magnesium stearate; a sweetening agent, such as, for example, sucrose, lactose, saccharin or combinations thereof; a flavoring agent, such as, for example peppermint, oil of wintergreen, cherry flavoring, orange flavoring, etc. When the dosage unit form is a capsule, it may contain, in addition to materials of the above type, a liquid carrier. Various other materials may be present as coatings or to otherwise modify the physical form of the dosage unit. For instance, tablets, pills, or capsules may be coated with shellac, sugar, or both. When the dosage form is a capsule, it may contain, in addition to materials of the above type, carriers such as a liquid carrier. Gelatin capsules, tablets, or pills may be enterically coated. Enteric coatings prevent denaturation of the composition in the stomach or upper bowel where the pH is acidic. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,001. Upon reaching the small intestines, the basic pH therein dissolves the coating and permits the composition to be released and absorbed by specialized cells, e.g., epithelial enterocytes and Peyer's patch M cells. A syrup or elixir may contain the active compound sucrose as a sweetening agent methyl and propylparabens as preservatives, a dye and flavoring, such as cherry or orange flavor. Of course, any material used in preparing any dosage unit form should be pharmaceutically pure and substantially non-toxic in the amounts employed. In addition, the active compounds may be incorporated into sustained-release preparation and formulations.
For oral administration the compositions of the present disclosure may alternatively be incorporated with one or more excipients in the form of a mouthwash, dentifrice, buccal tablet, oral spray, or sublingual orally-administered formulation. For example, a mouthwash may be prepared incorporating the active ingredient in the required amount in an appropriate solvent, such as a sodium borate solution (Dobell's Solution). Alternatively, the active ingredient may be incorporated into an oral solution such as one containing sodium borate, glycerin and potassium bicarbonate, or dispersed in a dentifrice, or added in a therapeutically-effective amount to a composition that may include water, binders, abrasives, flavoring agents, foaming agents, and humectants. Alternatively the compositions may be fashioned into a tablet or solution form that may be placed under the tongue or otherwise dissolved in the mouth.
Additional formulations which are suitable for other modes of alimentary administration include suppositories. Suppositories are solid dosage forms of various weights and shapes, usually medicated, for insertion into the rectum. After insertion, suppositories soften, melt or dissolve in the cavity fluids. In general, for suppositories, traditional carriers may include, for example, polyalkylene glycols, triglycerides or combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, suppositories may be formed from mixtures containing, for example, the active ingredient in the range of about 0.5% to about 10%, and preferably about 1% to about 2%.
In further embodiments, one or more composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, may be administered via a parenteral route. As used herein, the term “parenteral” includes routes that bypass the alimentary tract. Specifically, the pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein may be administered for example, but not limited to intravenously, intradermally, intramuscularly, intraarterially, intrathecally, subcutaneous, or intraperitoneally U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,7537,514, 6,613,308, 5,466,468, 5,543,158; 5,641,515; and 5,399,363 (each specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).
Solutions of the active compounds as free base or pharmacologically acceptable salts may be prepared in water suitably mixed with a surfactant, such as hydroxypropylcellulose. Dispersions may also be prepared in glycerol, liquid polyethylene glycols, and mixtures thereof and in oils. Under ordinary conditions of storage and use, these preparations contain a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms. The pharmaceutical forms suitable for injectable use include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions and sterile powders for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions or dispersions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,468, specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). In all cases the form must be sterile and must be fluid to the extent that easy injectability exists. It must be stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage and must be preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol, polyol (i.e., glycerol, propylene glycol, and liquid polyethylene glycol, and the like), suitable mixtures thereof, and/or vegetable oils. Proper fluidity may be maintained, for example, by the use of a coating, such as lecithin, by the maintenance of the required particle size in the case of dispersion and by the use of surfactants. The prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about by various antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, thimerosal, and the like. In many cases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars or sodium chloride. Prolonged absorption of the injectable compositions can be brought about by the use in the compositions of agents delaying absorption, for example, aluminum monostearate and gelatin.
For parenteral administration in an aqueous solution, for example, the solution should be suitably buffered if necessary and the liquid diluent first rendered isotonic with sufficient saline or glucose. These particular aqueous solutions are especially suitable for intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, and intraperitoneal administration. In this connection, sterile aqueous media that can be employed will be known to those of skill in the art in light of the present disclosure. For example, one dosage may be dissolved in isotonic NaCl solution and either added hypodermoclysis fluid or injected at the proposed site of infusion, (see for example, “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” 15th Edition, pages 1035-1038 and 1570-1580). Some variation in dosage will necessarily occur depending on the condition of the subject being treated. The person responsible for administration will, in any event, determine the appropriate dose for the individual subject. Moreover, for human administration, preparations should meet sterility, pyrogenicity, general safety and purity standards as required by FDA Office of Biologics standards.
Sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating the active compounds in the required amount in the appropriate solvent with various of the other ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed by filtered sterilization. Generally, dispersions are prepared by incorporating the various sterilized active ingredients into a sterile vehicle which contains the basic dispersion medium and the required other ingredients from those enumerated above. In the case of sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, the preferred methods of preparation are vacuum-drying and freeze-drying techniques which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filtered solution thereof. A powdered composition is combined with a liquid carrier such as, e.g., water or a saline solution, with or without a stabilizing agent.
In other preferred embodiments of the invention, the one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, or fusion proteins thereof, may be formulated for administration via various miscellaneous routes, for example, topical (i.e., transdermal) administration, mucosal administration (intranasal, vaginal, etc.) and/or inhalation.
Pharmaceutical compositions for topical administration may include the active compound formulated for a medicated application such as an ointment, paste, cream or powder. Ointments include all oleaginous, adsorption, emulsion and water-soluble based compositions for topical application, while creams and lotions are those compositions that include an emulsion base only. Topically administered medications may contain a penetration enhancer to facilitate adsorption of the active ingredients through the skin. Suitable penetration enhancers include glycerin, alcohols, alkyl methyl sulfoxides, pyrrolidones and luarocapram. Possible bases for compositions for topical application include polyethylene glycol, lanolin, cold cream and petrolatum as well as any other suitable absorption, emulsion or water-soluble ointment base. Topical preparations may also include emulsifiers, gelling agents, and antimicrobial preservatives as necessary to preserve the active ingredient and provide for a homogenous mixture. Transdermal administration of the present invention may also comprise the use of a “patch”. For example, the patch may supply one or more active substances at a predetermined rate and in a continuous manner over a fixed period of time.
In certain embodiments, the pharmaceutical compositions may be delivered by eye drops, intranasal sprays, inhalation, and/or other aerosol delivery vehicles. Methods for delivering compositions directly to the lungs via nasal aerosol sprays has been described e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,756,353 and 5,804,212 (each specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Likewise, the delivery of drugs using intranasal microparticle resins (Takenaga et al., 1998) and lysophosphatidyl-glycerol compounds (U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,871, specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) are also well-known in the pharmaceutical arts. Likewise, transmucosal drug delivery in the form of a polytetrafluoroetheylene support matrix is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,045 (specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).
The term aerosol refers to a colloidal system of finely divided solid of liquid particles dispersed in a liquefied or pressurized gas propellant. The typical aerosol of the present invention for inhalation will consist of a suspension of active ingredients in liquid propellant or a mixture of liquid propellant and a suitable solvent. Suitable propellants include hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon ethers. Suitable containers will vary according to the pressure requirements of the propellant. Administration of the aerosol will vary according to subject's age, weight and the severity and response of the symptoms.
Any of the compositions described herein may be comprised in a kit. In a non-limiting example, one or more composition of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 58, or fusion proteins thereof, may be comprised in a kit.
The kits may comprise a suitably aliquoted of one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 58 or fusion proteins thereof, and in some cases, one or more additional agents. The component(s) of the kits may be packaged either in aqueous media or in lyophilized form. The container means of the kits will generally include at least one vial, test tube, flask, bottle, syringe or other container means, into which a component may be placed, and preferably, suitably aliquoted. Where there are more than one component in the kit, the kit also will generally contain a second, third or other additional container into which the additional components may be separately placed. However, various combinations of components may be comprised in a vial. The kits of the present invention also will typically include a means for containing the one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 58, or fusion proteins thereof, and any other reagent containers in close confinement for commercial sale. Such containers may include injection or blow-molded plastic containers into which the desired vials are retained.
When the components of the kit are provided in one and/or more liquid solutions, the liquid solution is an aqueous solution, with a sterile aqueous solution being particularly preferred. The one or more compositions of the present invention comprising a nucleic acid or protein sequence such as anyone of SEQ ID NOs: 11-15, SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 58, or fusion proteins thereof, may be formulated into a syringeable composition. In which case, the container means may itself be a syringe, pipette, and/or other such like apparatus, from which the formulation may be applied to an infected area of the body, injected into an animal, and/or even applied to and/or mixed with the other components of the kit.
However, the components of the kit may be provided as dried powder(s). When reagents and/or components are provided as a dry powder, the powder can be reconstituted by the addition of a suitable solvent. It is envisioned that the solvent may also be provided in another container means.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent application 62/639,199, filed Mar. 6, 2018, which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
This invention was made with government support under grant nos. AI37856, HL133190, 10 AI130595, and CA006973 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2019/020959 | 3/6/2019 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62639199 | Mar 2018 | US |
