Method for Determining Sensitivity to a Bacteriophage
Description of Invention:
Traditionally, chemical antibiotics have been used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. However, bacterial resistance to current antibiotics is an increasingly serious problem in human and veterinary health as well as agriculture. Many experts believe that strains of disease-causing bacteria resistant to all common antibiotics will arise in the next ten to twenty years. Bacteriophages offer a promising therapeutic alternative to antibiotics for these antibiotic resistant bacteria. There are also situations in which bacteriophage may be more suitable than antibiotics to treat infections caused by against antibiotic-sensitive bacteria. Bacteriophages are highly host-specific, thus determining whether a phage would be therapeutically useful against a particular bacterium or strain of bacteria is very important but can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.
The current invention claims a method for selecting a therapeutic bacteriophage that would be effective against a particular disease-causing bacteria, comprising a number of bacteriophages containing reporter nucleic acids capable of being expressed when the bacteriophage infects a bacterial cell. These bacteriophages are separately contacted with a sample contaminated by a bacterium. Expression of the reporter is then detected, indicating which bacteriophage has infected a bacterial cell and is thus a potential therapeutic phage against the particular bacteria. Also claimed in the application are kits allowing for the rapid identification of potentially therapeutic bacteriophages.
Inventors:
Carl R. Merril (NIMH) Sankar Adhya (NCI) Dean M. Scholl (NIMH)
Patent Status:
DHHS Reference No. E-318-2000/0 --
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/351,458 filed 23 Jan 2002
PCT Application No. PCT/US03/02179 filed 23 Jan 2003
U.S. Patent Application No. 10/498,428 filed 10 Jun 2004
For Additional Information Please Contact: Peter A. Soukas J.D.
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: (301) 435-4646
Email: soukasp@mail.nih.gov
Fax: (301) 402-0220
