Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
170 words
A method for preparing a live attentuated vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterial microorganism, which vaccine has substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host, said method comprising: introducing a transposon into a structural gene of a virulent strain of said microorganism, wherein said gene expresses a protein in the biosynthetic pathway of a metabolite essential for multiplication and normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and wherein said transposon provides a phenotypic property allowing for selection of the presence of said transposon; selecting for microorganisms having said phenotypic property provided by said transposon and isolating transposon-modified microorganisms; selecting for, from said transposon-modified microorganisms, variant microorganisms lacking said phenotypic property due to excision of all or a part of said transposon and being auxotrophic due to a non-reverting mutation in said structural gene as a result of said excision, resulting in a culture having a non-reverting auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said non-reverting auxotrophic nonvirulent mutant; and isolating said auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
170 words
A method for preparing a live attentuated vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterial microorganism, which vaccine has substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host, said method comprising: introducing a transposon into a structural gene of a virulent strain of said microorganism, wherein said gene expresses a protein in the biosynthetic pathway of a metabolite essential for multiplication and normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and wherein said transposon provides a phenotypic property allowing for selection of the presence of said transposon; selecting for microorganisms having said phenotypic property provided by said transposon and isolating transposon-modified microorganisms; selecting for, from said transposon-modified microorganisms, variant microorganisms lacking said phenotypic property due to excision of all or a part of said transposon and being auxotrophic due to a non-reverting mutation in said structural gene as a result of said excision, resulting in a culture having a non-reverting auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said non-reverting auxotrophic nonvirulent mutant; and isolating said auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said gene is an aro, pur, dap or pab gene.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
A method according to claim 2, wherein said gene is an aro gene.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
7 words
A vaccine prepared according to claim 1.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
11 words
A vaccine according to claim 4, wherein said microorganism is Salmonella.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method for immunizing a host susceptible to a disease caused by infection with a bacterial microorganism, comprising: administering to said host, in an amount sufficient to elicit an immune response, a vaccine prepared according to claim 1, wherein said virulent pathogenic microorganism causes said disease.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 1 further comprising: culturing said living vaccine whereby progeny of said living vaccine are selected for which are auxotrophic non-proliferating mutants; and isolating said progeny to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
162 words
A method of preparing a live attenuated vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterium, which vaccine has a substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host, said method comprising: introducing a transposon into a structural gene of a virulent strain of said bacterium, wherein said gene expresses a protein in the biosynthetic pathway of a metabolite essential for multiplication and normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and wherein said transposon provides a phenotypic property allowing for selection of the presence of said transposon; selecting for bacteria having said phenotypic property provided by said transposon and isolating transposon-modified bacteria; selecting for, from said transposon-modified bacteria, bacteria lacking said phenotypic property due to excision of all or a part of said transposon and being auxotrophic due to a non-reverting mutation in said structural gene as a result of said excision, resulting in a culture having an auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant; and isolating said auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
162 words
A method of preparing a live attenuated vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterium, which vaccine has a substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host, said method comprising: introducing a transposon into a structural gene of a virulent strain of said bacterium, wherein said gene expresses a protein in the biosynthetic pathway of a metabolite essential for multiplication and normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and wherein said transposon provides a phenotypic property allowing for selection of the presence of said transposon; selecting for bacteria having said phenotypic property provided by said transposon and isolating transposon-modified bacteria; selecting for, from said transposon-modified bacteria, bacteria lacking said phenotypic property due to excision of all or a part of said transposon and being auxotrophic due to a non-reverting mutation in said structural gene as a result of said excision, resulting in a culture having an auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant; and isolating said auxotrophic non-reverting non-virulent mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
11 words
A method according to claim 8, wherein said bacterium is Salmonella.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
7 words
A vaccine prepared according to claim 8.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 8 further comprising: culturing said living vaccine whereby progeny of said living vaccine are selected for which are auxotrophic non-proliferating mutants; and isolating said progeny to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
221 words
A method for preparing a live non-virulent vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterium having substantially unaltered O antigenic character, which vaccine has a substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host susceptible to said bacterium, said method comprising: transducing cells of a virulent strain of said bacterium with a first transducing phage comprising at least a portion of a first gene, which first gene expresses a protein utilized in a first biosynthetic pathway to a first essential metabolite normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and which first gene includes a non-reverting mutation, resulting in a culture of a first auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said first auxotrophic mutant by means of said first auxotrophic mutation or other marker introduced by said first transducing phage; transducing said first auxotrophic mutant with a second transducing phage comprising at least a portion of a second gene, which second gene expresses a protein utilized in a second biosynthetic pathway to a second essential metabolite normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and which second gene includes a non-reverting mutation, resulting in a culture of a second auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said second auxotrophic mutant by means of said second auxotrophic mutation or other marker introduced by said second transducing phage; and isolating said second auxotrophic non-reverting mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
221 words
A method for preparing a live non-virulent vaccine from a virulent pathogenic bacterium having substantially unaltered O antigenic character, which vaccine has a substantially zero probability of reverting to virulence in a vertebrate host susceptible to said bacterium, said method comprising: transducing cells of a virulent strain of said bacterium with a first transducing phage comprising at least a portion of a first gene, which first gene expresses a protein utilized in a first biosynthetic pathway to a first essential metabolite normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and which first gene includes a non-reverting mutation, resulting in a culture of a first auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said first auxotrophic mutant by means of said first auxotrophic mutation or other marker introduced by said first transducing phage; transducing said first auxotrophic mutant with a second transducing phage comprising at least a portion of a second gene, which second gene expresses a protein utilized in a second biosynthetic pathway to a second essential metabolite normally unavailable in said vertebrate host, and which second gene includes a non-reverting mutation, resulting in a culture of a second auxotrophic non-virulent mutant; selecting for said second auxotrophic mutant by means of said second auxotrophic mutation or other marker introduced by said second transducing phage; and isolating said second auxotrophic non-reverting mutant to provide a living vaccine.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
7 words
A vaccine prepared according to claim 12.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein said selecting comprises growing said culture under conditions lacking a required nutrient for said auxotrophic mutant and including a biocidal agent for any multiplying microorganism to enrich said culture in the proportion of transductants of the desired class.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method according to claim 14, wherein said first gene is selected from the group consisting of aro, pur, dap or pab, and said second gene is selected from the same group, with the proviso that the first and second genes will be different.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 15, wherein said first gene is of an aro gene and said second gene is a pur gene.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
11 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein said bacterium is Salmonella.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 12 further comprising: culturing said living vaccine whereby progeny of said living vaccine are selected for which are auxotrophic non-proliferating mutants; and isolating said progeny to provide a living vaccine.