Cell Surface Protein Compounds

This invention relates to newly identified polynucleotides, polypeptides such polynucleotides, the use of such polynucleotides and polypeptides, as we as the production of such polynucleotides and polypeptides and recombinant host cells transformed with the polynucleotides.

Several cell surface associated proteins of the Staphylococci and Streptococci involved in microbial adhesion to different host tissues and considered to be important factors in bacterial pathogenesis have been identified in the last decade (see Patti, J. M., Allen, B. L., McGavin, M. J. and Hook, M., MSCRAMM-Mediated Adherence of Microorganisms to Host Tissues [1994] Annu.Rev.Microbiol. 48, 585-617.).

The LPXTG motif has been identified as characteristic of surface proteins in Gram-positive bacteria (Navarre, W. W. and Schneewind, O. [1994] Molecular Microbiology 14(1) 115.varies.121); Fischetti et al. [1990] Mol. Microbiol. 4 1603-5; Schneewind et al. [1993] EMBO J. 4803-4811).

Navarre, W. W. and Schneewind, O. [1994] demonstrate that the position of the LPXTG motif in a cell surface protein dictates that region of the protein which is anchored to the cell wall and the proportion of the N-terminal fragment which no longer resides in the cytoplasm.

Different approaches have been put forward to address such proteins from Staphylococcus aureus as antibacterial targets, e.g. fibronectin binding proteins (EP0294349, EP0397633, W094/18327), fibrinogen binding protein (W094/06830), collagen binding protein (W092/07002) and bone sialoprotein binding protein (WO94/13310). The binding proteins or binding fragments thereof are used as antibacterial agents to block binding of the organism to host tissue, as vaccines to raise antibodies to the organism in the host animal or as antigens to raise therapeutic antibodies which can be used to block binding of the organism to host tissue.

Recently several novel approaches have been described which purport to follow global gene expression during infection (Chuang, S. et al. [1993] Global Regulation of Gene Expression in Escherichia coli J. Bacteriol. 175, 2026-2036, Mahan, M. J. et al. [1993] Selection of Bacterial Virulence Genes That Are Specifically Induced in Host Tissues SCIENCE 259, 686-688, Hensel, M. et al. [1995] Simultaneous Identification of Bacterial Virulence Genes by Negative Selection SCIENCE 269, 400-403). These new techniques have so far been demonstrated with gram negative pathogen infections and not with infections with gram positives presumably due to the much slower development of global transposon mutagenesis and suitable vectors needed for these strategies in these organisms, and in the case of that process described by Chuang, S. et al.[1993] the difficulty of isolating suitable quantities of bacterial RNA free of mammalian RNA derived from the infected tissue to furnish bacterial RNA labelled to sufficiently high specific activity. The present invention employs a novel technology to determine gene expression in the pathogen at different stages of infection of the mammalian host. A novel aspect of this invention is the use of a suitably labelled oligonucleotide probe which anneals specifically to the bacterial ribosomal RNA in Northern blots of bacterial RNA preparations from infected tissue. Using the more abundant ribosomal RNA as a hybridisation target greatly facilitates the optimisation of a protocol to purify bacterial RNA of a suitable size and quantity for RT-PCR from infected tissue.

A suitable oligonucleotide useful for applying this method to genes expressed in Staphylococcus aureus is

5'-gctcctaaaaggttactccaccggc-3' [SEQ ID NO:5]

Use of the technology of the present invention enables identification of bacterial genes transcribed during infection, inhibitors of which would have utility in anti-bacterial therapy. Specific inhibitors of such gene transcription or of the subsequent translation of the resultant mRNA or of the function of the corresponding expressed proteins would have utility in anti-bacterial therapy.

The present invention relates to a novel cell surface protein from S. aureus WCUH 29, characterised in that it comprises the amino acid sequence given in SEQ ID NO 1, or a fragment, analogue or derivative thereof.

The invention also relates to a polypeptide fragment of the cell surface protein, having the amino acid sequence given in SEQ ID NO 1, or a derivative thereof.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there are provided polynucleotides (DNA or RNA) which encode such polypeptides.

In particular the invention provides a polynucleotide having the DNA sequence given in SEQ ID NO 2.

The present invention also provides a novel protein from Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 obtainable by expression of a gene characterised in that it comprises the DNA sequence given SEQ ID NO 2, or a fragment, analogue or derivative thereof.

The invention also relates to novel oligonucleotides, including SEQ ID NOs 3 and 4, derived from the sequences SEQ ID NO 2.

The present invention includes variants of the hereinabove described polynucleotides which encode fragments, analogs and derivatives of the polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1.

The present invention also relates to vectors which include polynucleotides of the present invention, host cells which are genetically engineered with vectors of the invention and the production of polypeptides of the invention by recombinant techniques.

In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of a polypeptide of the invention for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, for example, as an antibacterial agent or a vaccine.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of a polynucleotide of the invention for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, in particular genetic immunisation.

Further provided is a method for identifying compounds which bind to and inhibit an activity of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1 comprising: contacting a cell expressing on the surface thereof a binding means for the polypeptide, said binding means being associated with a second component capable of providing a detectable signal in response to the binding of a compound to said binding means, with a compound to be screened under conditions to permit binding to the binding means; and determining whether the compound binds to and activates or inhibits the binding by detecting the presence or absence of a signal generated from the interaction of the compound with the binding means.

Also provided is an antibody against the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1. Still further provided is an antagonist which inhibits the activity of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1.

A method is also provided for the treatment of an individual having need to inhibit the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1 comprising: administering to the individual a therapeutically effective amount of an antagonist against the polypeptide of the invention. Provided is a process for diagnosing a disease related to expression of the polypeptide of the invention comprising:determining a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1.

A diagnostic process is provided comprising: analyzing for the presence of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1 in a sample derived from a host.

Also provided is an antibody against the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1. Still further provided is an antagonist which inhibits the activity of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1.

A method is also provided for the treatment of an individual having need to inhibit binding polypeptide of the invention comprising: administering to the individual a therapeutically effective amount of an antagonist against such polypeptide.

Provided is a process for diagnosing a disease related to expression of the polypeptide of the invention comprising:determining a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1.

A diagnostic process is provided comprising: analyzing for the presence of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:1 in a sample derived from a host.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there are provided inhibitors to such polypeptides, useful as antibacterial agents.

Another aspect of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above polypeptide, polynucleotide or inhibitor of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

In a particular aspect the invention provides the use of the polypeptide, polynucleotide or inhibitor of the invention to interfere with the immediate physical interaction between a pathogen and mammalian host responsible for sequelae of infection.

The invention further relates to the manufacture of a medicament for such uses.

This invention provides a method of screening drugs to identify those which interfere with the interaction of the cell surface protein or active fragment to mammalian cells.

The following drawings depict certain embodiments of the invention. They are illustrative only and do not limit the invention otherwise disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 shows the polypeptide sequence of novel cell surface protein [SEQ ID NO:1].

FIGS. 2A-2D show the polynucleotide sequence of novel cell surface protein [SEQ ID NO:2] deduced from the polynucleotide sequence of FIG. 1.

The present invention relates to a novel cell surface protein from S. aureus WCUH 29, characterised in that it comprises the amino acid sequence given in SEQ ID NO 1, or a fragment, analogue or derivative thereof.

Staphylococcus aureus WCUH 29 has been deposited at the National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria Ltd. (NCIMB), 23 St. Machar Drive, Aberdeen AB21RY, Scotland under number NCIMB 40771 on Sep. 11, 1995.

The invention also relates to a polypeptide fragment of the cell surface protein, having the amino acid sequence given in SEQ ID NO 1, or a derivative thereof. The amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1 displays homology to bacterial rodA (SWISSPROT ACCESSION RODA.sub.-- ECOLI) (LPXTG motif).

Hereinafter the term polypeptide(s) will be used to refer to the cell surface protein, its fragments, analogues or derivatives as well as the polypeptide fragment or its derivatives.

The invention provides a polynucleotide encoding a cell surface protein from S. aureus WCUH 29 and characterised in that it comprises the DNA sequence given in SEQ ID NO2.

The invention also relates to novel oligonucleotides, including SEQ ID NOs 3 and 4, derived from the sequences SEQ ID NO 2 which can act as PCR primers in the process herein described to determine whether or not the Staphylococcus aureus genes identified herein in whole or in part are transcribed in infected tissue. It is recognised that such sequences will also have utility in diagnosis of the stage of infection and type of infection the pathogen has attained.

The polynucleotide having the DNA sequence given in SEQ ID NO 2 was obtained from the sequencing of a library of clones of chromosomal DNA of S. aureus WCUH 29 in E. coli. It has been demonstrated by the process herein described that it is transcribed in vivo in an established infection of S. aureus WCUH29 in a mouse model of infection.

To obtain the polynucleotide encoding the cell surface protein using the DNA sequence given in SEQ ID NO 2 typically a library of clones of chromosomal DNA of S. aureus WCUH 29 in E. coli or some other suitable host is probed with a radiolabelled oligonucleotide, preferably a 17 mer or longer, derived from the partial sequence. Clones carrying DNA identical to that of the probe can then be distinguished using high stringency washes. By sequencing the individual clones thus identified with sequencing primers designed from the original sequence it is then possible to extend the sequence in both directions to determine the full gene sequence. Conveniently such sequencing is performed using denatured double stranded DNA prepared from a plasmid clone. Suitable techniques are described by Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E. F. and Sambrook, J. in MOLECULAR CLONING, A Laboratory Manual [2nd edition 1989 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, see Screening By Hybridization 1.90 and Sequencing Denatured Double-Stranded DNA Templates 13.70].

The polynucleotide of the present invention may be in the form of RNA or in the form of DNA, which DNA includes cDNA, genomic DNA, and synthetic DNA. The DNA may be double-stranded or single-stranded, and if single stranded may be the coding strand or non-coding (anti-sense) strand. The coding sequence which encodes the polypeptide may be identical to the coding sequence shown in SEQ ID NO 2 or may be a different coding sequence which coding sequence, as a result of the redundancy or degeneracy of the genetic code, encodes the same polypeptide.

The present invention includes variants of the hereinabove described polynucleotides which encode fragments, analogs and derivatives of the polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1. The variant of the polynucleotide may be a naturally occurring allelic variant of the polynucleotide or a non-naturally occurring variant of the polynucleotide.

Thus, the present invention includes polynucleotides encoding the same polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1 as well as variants of such polynucleotides which variants encode for a fragment, derivative or analog of the polypeptide. Such nucleotide variants include deletion variants, substitution variants and addition or insertion variants.

The polynucleotide may have a coding sequence which is a naturally occurring allelic variant of the coding sequence characterised by the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO 2. As known in the art, an allelic variant is an alternate form of a polynucleotide sequence which may have a substitution, deletion or addition of one or more nucleotides, which does not substantially alter the function of the encoded polypeptide.

The polynucleotide which encodes for the mature polypeptide, i.e. the native cell surface protein, may include only the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide or the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide and additional coding sequence such as a leader or secretory sequence or a proprotein sequence.

Thus, the term "polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide" encompasses a polynucleotide which includes only coding sequence for the polypeptide as well as a polynucleotide which includes additional coding and/or non-coding sequence.

The present invention therefore includes polynucleotides, wherein the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide may be fused in the same reading frame to a polynucleotide sequence which aids in expression and secretion of a polypeptide from a host cell, for example, a leader sequence which functions as a secretory sequence for controlling transport of a polypeptide from the cell. The polypeptide having a leader sequence is a preprotein and may have the leader sequence cleaved by the host cell to form the mature form of the polypeptide. The polynucleotides may also encode for a proprotein which is the mature protein plus additional 5' amino acid residues. A mature protein having a prosequence is a proprotein and is an inactive form of the protein. Once the prosequence is cleaved an active mature protein remains.

Thus, for example, the polynucleotide of the present invention may encode for a mature protein, or for a protein having a prosequence or for a protein having both a prosequence and a presequence (leader sequence). During post-translational modification of the peptide, a methionine residue at the NH.sub.2 -terminus may be deleted. Accordingly, this invention contemplates the use of both the methionine-containing and the methionineless amino terminal variants of the protein of the invention.

The polynucleotides of the present invention may also have the coding sequence fused in frame to a marker sequence at either the 5' or 3' terminus of the gene which allows for purification of the polypeptide of the present invention. The marker sequence may be a hexa-histidine tag supplied by the pQE series of vectors (supplied commercially by Quiagen Inc.) to provide for purification of the polypeptide fused to the marker in the case of a bacterial host.

The present invention further relates to polynucleotides which hybridize to the hereinabove-described sequences if there is at least 50% and preferably at least 70% identity between the sequences. The present invention particularly relates to polynucleotides which hybridize under stringent conditions to the hereinabove-described polynucleotides . As herein used, the term "stringent conditions" means hybridization will occur only if there is at least 95% and preferably at least 97% identity between the sequences. The polynucleotides which hybridize to the hereinabove described polynucleotides in a preferred embodiment encode polypeptides which retain substantially the same biological function or activity as the polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1. The invention also provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a member selected from the group consisting of: a polynucleotide having at least a 70% identity to a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising amino acids of SEQ ID NO:1; a polynucleotide which is complementary to the polynucleotide of (a); and a polynucleotide comprising at least 15 sequential bases of the polynucleotide of (a) or (b).

The deposit referred to herein will be maintained under the terms of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for purposes of Patent Procedure. These deposits are provided merely as convenience to those of skill in the art and are not an admission that a deposit is required under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112. The sequence of the polynucleotides contained in the deposited material, as well as the amino acid sequence of the polypeptides encoded thereby, are incorporated herein by reference and are controlling in the event of any conflict with any description of sequences herein. A license may be required to make, use or sell the deposited material, and no such license is hereby granted.

The terms "fragment," "derivative" and "analog" when referring to the polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1, means a polypeptide which retains essentially the same biological function or activity as such polypeptide. Thus, an analog includes a proprotein which can be activated by cleavage of the proprotein portion to produce an active mature polypeptide.

The polypeptide of the present invention may be a recombinant polypeptide, a natural polypeptide or a synthetic polypeptide, preferably a recombinant polypeptide.

The fragment, derivative or analog of the polypeptide characterised by the deduced amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 1 may be (i) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues are substituted with a conserved or non-conserved amino acid residue (preferably a conserved amino acid residue) and such substituted amino acid residue may or may not be one encoded by the genetic code, or (ii) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues includes a substituent group, or (iii) one in which the polypeptide is fused with another compound, such as a compound to increase the half-life of the polypeptide (for example, polyethylene glycol), or (iv) one in which the additional amino acids are fused to the polypeptide, such as a leader or secretory sequence or a sequence which is employed for purification of the polypeptide or a proprotein sequence. Such fragments, derivatives and analogs are deemed to be within the scope of those skilled in the art from the teachings herein.

The polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention are preferably provided in an isolated form, and preferably are purified to homogeneity.

The term "isolated" means that the material is removed from its original environment (e.g., the natural environment if it is naturally occurring). For example, a naturally-occurring polynucleotide or polypeptide present in a living animal is not isolated, but the same polynucleotide or polypeptide, separated from some or all of the coexisting materials in the natural system, is isolated. Such polynucleotides could be part of a vector and/or such polynucleotides or polypeptides could be part of a composition, and still be isolated in that such vector or composition is not part of its natural environment.

In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is therefore provided a process for producing the polypeptide of the invention by recombinant techniques by expressing a polynucleotide encoding said polypeptide in a host and recovering the expressed product. Alternatively, the polypeptides of the invention can be synthetically produced by conventional peptide synthesizers.

Host cells are genetically engineered (transduced or transformed or transfected) with the vectors of this invention which may be, for example, a cloning vector or an expression vector. The vector may be, for example, in the form of a plasmid, a cosmid, a phage, etc. The engineered host cells can be cultured in conventional nutrient media modified as appropriate for activating promoters, selecting transformants or amplifying the genes. The culture conditions, such as temperature, pH and the like, are those previously used with the host cell selected for expression, and will be apparent to the ordinarily skilled artisan.

Suitable expression vectors include chromosomal, nonchromosomal and synthetic DNA sequences, e.g., bacterial plasmids; phage DNA; baculovirus; yeast plasmids; vectors derived from combinations of plasmids and phage DNA. However, any other vector may be used as long as it is replicable and viable in the host.

The appropriate DNA sequence may be inserted into the vector by a variety of procedures. In general, the DNA sequence is inserted into an appropriate restriction endonuclease site(s) by procedures known in the art.

The DNA sequence in the expression vector is operatively linked to an appropriate expression control sequence(s) (promoter) to direct mRNA synthesis. As representative examples of such promoters, there may be mentioned: LTR or SV40 promoter, the E. coli. lac or trp, the phage lambda P.sub.L promoter and other promoters known to control expression of genes in eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells or their viruses. The expression vector also contains a ribosome binding site for translation initiation and a transcription terminator. The vector may also include appropriate sequences for amplifying expression.

In addition, the expression vectors preferably contain one or more selectable marker genes to provide a phenotypic trait for selection of transformed host cells such as dihydrofolate reductase or neomycin resistance for eukaryotic cell culture, or such as tetracycline or ampicillin resistance in E. coli.

The gene can be placed under the control of a promoter, ribosome binding site (for bacterial expression) and, optionally, an operator (collectively referred to herein as "control" elements), so that the DNA sequence encoding the desired protein is transcribed into RNA in the host cell transformed by a vector containing this expression construction. The coding sequence may or may not contain a signal peptide or leader sequence. The polypeptides of the present invention can be expressed using, for example, the E. coli tac promoter or the protein A gene (spa) promoter and signal sequence. Leader sequences can be removed by the bacterial host in post-translational processing. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,431,739; 4,425,437; 4,338,397. Promoter regions can be selected from any desired gene using CAT (chloramphenicol transferase) vectors or other vectors with selectable markers. Two appropriate vectors are PKK232-8 and PCM7. Particular named bacterial promoters include lacI, lacZ, T3, T7, gpt, lambda P.sub.R, P.sub.L and trp. Eukaryotic promoters include CMV immediate early, HSV thymidine kinase, early and late SV40, LTRs from retrovirus, and mouse metallothionein-I. Selection of the appropriate vector and promoter is well within the level of ordinary skill in the art.

In addition to control sequences, it may be desirable to add regulatory sequences which allow for regulation of the expression of the protein sequences relative to the growth of the host cell. Regulatory sequences are known to those of skill in the art, and examples include those which cause the expression of a gene to be turned on or off in response to a chemical or physical stimulus, including the presence of a regulatory compound. Other types of regulatory elements may also be present in the vector, for example, enhancer sequences.

An expression vector is constructed so that the particular coding sequence is located in the vector with the appropriate regulatory sequences, the positioning and orientation of the coding sequence with respect to the control sequences being such that the coding sequence is transcribed under the "control" of the control sequences (i.e., RNA polymerase which binds to the DNA molecule at the control sequences transcribes the coding sequence). Modification of the coding sequences may be desirable to achieve this end. For example, in some cases it may be necessary to modify the sequence so that it may be attached to the control sequences with the appropriate orientation; i.e., to maintain the reading frame. The control sequences and other regulatory sequences may be ligated to the coding sequence prior to insertion into a vector, such as the cloning vectors described above. Alternatively, the coding sequence can be cloned directly into an expression vector which already contains the control sequences and an appropriate restriction site.

Generally, recombinant expression vectors will include origins of replication and selectable markers permitting transformation of the host cell, e.g., the ampicillin resistance gene of E. coli and S. cerevisiae TRP1 gene, and a promoter derived from a highly-expressed gene to direct transcription of a downstream structural sequence. The heterologous structural sequence is assembled in appropriate phase with translation initiation and termination sequences, and preferably, a leader sequence capable of directing secretion of translated protein into the periplasmic space or extracellular medium. Optionally, the heterologous sequence can encode a fusion protein including an N-terminal identification peptide imparting desired characteristics, e.g., stabilization or simplified purification of expressed recombinant product.

The vector containing the appropriate DNA sequence as hereinabove described, as well as an appropriate promoter or control sequence, may be employed to transform an appropriate host to permit the host to express the protein.

More particularly, the present invention also includes recombinant constructs comprising one or more of the sequences as broadly described above. The constructs comprise a vector, such as a plasmid or viral vector, into which a sequence of the invention has been inserted, in a forward or reverse orientation. In a preferred aspect of this embodiment, the construct further comprises regulatory sequences, including, for example, a promoter, operably linked to the sequence. Large numbers of suitable vectors and promoters are known to those of skill in the art, and are commercially available. The following vectors are provided by way of example. Bacterial: pET-3 vectors (Stratagene), pQE70, pQE60, pQE-9 (Qiagen), pbs, pD10, phagescript, psiX174, pbluescript SK, pbsks, pNH8A, pNH16a, pNH18A, pNH46A (Stratagene); ptrc99a, pKK223-3, pKK233-3, pDR540, pRIT5 (Pharmacia). Eukaryotic: pBlueBacIII (Invitrogen), pWLNEO, pSV2CAT, pOG44, pXT1, pSG (Stratagene) pSVK3, pBPV, pMSG, pSVL (Pharmacia). However, any other plasmid or vector may be used as long as they are replicable and viable in the host.

Examples of recombinant DNA vectors for cloning and host cells which they can transform include the bacteriophage 1 (E. coli ), pBR322 (E. coli ), pACYC177 (E. coli ), pKT230 (gram-negative bacteria), pGV1106 (gram-negative bacteria), pLAFRI (gram-negative bacteria), pME290 (non-E. coli gram-negative bacteria), pHV14 (E. coli and Bacillus subtilis), pBD9 (Bacillus), pIJ61 (Streptomyces), pUC6 (Streptomyces), YIp5 (Saccharomyces), a baculovirus insect cell system, , YCp19 (Saccharomyces). See, generally, "DNA Cloning" : Vols. I & II, Glover et al. ed. IRL Press Oxford (1985) (1987) and; T. Maniatis et al. ("Molecular Cloning" Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1982).

In some cases, it may be desirable to add sequences which cause the secretion of the polypeptide from the host organism, with subsequent cleavage of the secretory signal.

Polypeptides can be expressed in host cells under the control of appropriate promoters. Cell-free translation systems can also be employed to produce such proteins using RNAs derived from the DNA constructs of the present invention. Appropriate cloning and expression vectors for use with prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts are described by Sambrook, et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., (1989), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Following transformation of a suitable host strain and growth of the host strain to an appropriate cell density, the selected promoter is induced by appropriate means (e.g., temperature shift or chemical induction) and cells are cultured for an additional period.

Cells are typically harvested by centrifugation, disrupted by physical or chemical means, and the resulting crude extract retained for further purification.

Microbial cells employed in expression of proteins can be disrupted by any convenient method, including freeze-thaw cycling, sonication, mechanical disruption, or use of cell lysing agents, such methods are well know to those skilled in the art.

Depending on the expression system and host selected, the polypeptide of the present invention may be produced by growing host cells transformed by an expression vector described above under conditions whereby the polypeptide of interest is expressed. The polypeptide is then isolated from the host cells and purified. If the expression system secretes the polypeptide into growth media, the polypeptide can be purified directly from the media. If the polypeptide is not secreted, it is isolated from cell lysates or recovered from the cell membrane fraction. Where the polypeptide is localized to the cell surface, whole cells or isolated membranes can be used as an assayable source of the desired gene product. Polypeptide expressed in bacterial hosts such as E. coli may require isolation from inclusion bodies and refolding. Where the mature protein has a very hydroophobic region (normally at the C-terminus) which leads to an insoluble product of overexpression, it may be desirable to express a truncated protein in which the hydrophobic region has been deleted. The selection of the appropriate growth conditions and recovery methods are within the skill of the art.

The polypeptide can be recovered and purified from recombinant cell cultures by methods including ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity chromatography hydroxylapatite chromatography and lectin chromatography. Protein refolding steps can be used, as necessary, in completing configuration of the mature protein. Finally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can be employed for final purification steps.

Depending upon the host employed in a recombinant production procedure, the polypeptides of the present invention may be glycosylated or may be non-glycosylated. Polypeptides of the invention may also include an initial methionine amino acid residue.

A "replicon" is any genetic element (e.g., plasmid, chromosome, virus) that functions as an autonomous unit of DNA replication in vivo; i.e., capable of replication under its own control.

A "vector" is a replicon, such as a plasmid, phage, or cosmid, to which another DNA segment may be attached so as to bring about the replication of the attached segment.

A "double-stranded DNA molecule" refers to the polymeric form of deoxyribonucleotides (bases adenine, guanine, thymine, or cytosine) in a double-stranded helix, both relaxed and supercoiled. This term refers only to the primary and secondary structure of the molecule, and does not limit it to any particular tertiary forms. Thus, this term includes double-stranded DNA found, inter alia, in linear DNA molecules (e.g., restriction fragments), viruses, plasmids, and chromosomes. In discussing the structure of particular double-stranded DNA molecules, sequences may be described herein according to the normal convention of giving only the sequence in the 5' to 3' direction along the nontranscribed strand of DNA (i.e., the strand having the sequence homologous to the mRNA).

A DNA "coding sequence of" or a "nucleotide sequence encoding" a particular protein, is a DNA sequence which is transcribed and translated into a polypeptide when placed under the control of appropriate regulatory sequences.

A "promoter sequence" is a DNA regulatory region capable of binding RNA polymerase in a cell and initiating transcription of a downstream (3' direction) coding sequence. For purposes of defining the present invention, the promoter sequence is bound at the 3' terminus by a translation start codon (e.g., ATG) of a coding sequence and extends upstream (5' direction) to include the minimum number of bases or elements necessary to initiate transcription at levels detectable above background. Within the promoter sequence will be found a transcription initiation site (conveniently defined by mapping with nuclease S1), as well as protein binding domains (consensus sequences) responsible for the binding of RNA polymerase. Eukaryotic promoters will often, but not always, contain "TATA" boxes and "CAT" boxes. Prokaryotic promoters contain Shine-Dalgarno sequences in addition to the -10 and -35 consensus sequences.

DNA "control sequences" refers collectively to promoter sequences, ribosome binding sites, polyadenylation signals, transcription termination sequences, upstream regulatory domains, enhancers, and the like, which collectively provide for the expression (i.e., the transcription and translation) of a coding sequence in a host cell.

A control sequence "directs the expression" of a coding sequence in a cell when RNA polymerase will bind the promoter sequence and transcribe the coding sequence into mRNA, which is then translated into the polypeptide encoded by the coding sequence.

A "host cell" is a cell which has been transformed or transfected, or is capable of transformation or transfection by an exogenous DNA sequence.

A cell has been "transformed" by exogenous DNA when such exogenous DNA has been introduced inside the cell membrane. Exogenous DNA may or may not be integrated (covalently linked) into chromosomal DNA making up the genome of the cell. In prokaryotes and yeasts, for example, the exogenous DNA may be maintained on an episomal element, such as a plasmid. With respect to eukaryotic cells, a stably transformed or transfected cell is one in which the exogenous DNA has become integrated into the chromosome so that it is inherited by daughter cells through chromosome replication. This stability is demonstrated by the ability of the eukaryotic cell to establish cell lines or clones comprised of a population of daughter cell containing the exogenous DNA.

A "clone" is a population of cells derived from a single cell or common ancestor by mitosis. A "cell line" is a clone of a primary cell that is capable of stable growth in vitro for many generations.

A "heterologous" region of a DNA construct is an identifiable segment of DNA within or attached to another DNA molecule that is not found in association with the other molecule in nature.

In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of a polypeptide of the invention for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, for example, as an antibacterial agent or a vaccine.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of a polynucleotide of the invention for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, in particular genetic immunisation.

Each of the DNA sequences provided herein may be used in the discovery and development of antibacterial compounds. The encoded protein upon expression can be used as a target for the screening of antibacterial drugs. Additionally, the DNA sequences encoding the amino terminal regions of the encoded protein or Shine-Delgarno or other translation facilitating sequences of the respective mRNA can be used to construct antisense sequences to control the expression of the coding sequence of interest.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there are provided inhibitors to such polypeptides, useful as antibacterial agents. In particular, there are provided antibodies against such polypeptides.

Another aspect of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above polypeptide, polynucleotide or inhibitor of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

In a particular aspect the invention provides the use of the polypeptide, polynucleotide or inhibitor of the invention to interfere with the immediate physical interaction between a pathogen and mammalian host responsible for sequelae of infection. In particular the molecules of the invention may be used:

i) in the prevention of adhesion of bacteria, in particular gram positive bacteria, to mammalian extracellular matrix proteins on in-dwelling devices or to extracellular matrix proteins in wounds;

ii) to block cell surface protein mediated mammalian cell invasion by, for example, initiating phosphorylation of mammalian tyrosine kinases (Rosenshine et al. [1992] Infect. Immun. 60, 2211-7)

iii) to block bacterial adhesion between mammalian extracellular matrix proteins and bacterial cell surface proteins which mediate tissue damage

iv) to block the normal progression of pathogenesis in infections initiated other than by the implantation of in-dwelling devices or by other surgical techniques.

The invention further relates to the manufacture of a medicament for such uses.

The polypeptide may be used as an antigen for vaccination of a host to produce specific antibodies which protect against invasion of bacteria, for example by blocking adherence of bacteria to damaged tissue. Examples of tissue damage include wounds in skin or connective tissue caused e.g. by mechanical, chemical or thermal damage or by implantation of indwelling devices, or wounds in the mucous membranes, such as the mouth, mammary glands, urethra or vagina.

The polypeptides or cells expressing them can be used as an immunogen to produce antibodies thereto. These antibodies can be, for example, polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies. The term antibodies also includes chimeric, single chain, and humanized antibodies, as well as Fab fragments, or the product of an Fab expression library. Various procedures known in the art may be used for the production of such antibodies and fragments.

Antibodies generated against the polypeptides of the present invention can be obtained by direct injection of the polypeptides into an animal or by administering the polypeptides to an animal, preferably a nonhuman. The antibody so obtained will then bind the polypeptides itself. In this manner, even a sequence encoding only a fragment of the polypeptides can be used to generate antibodies binding the whole native polypeptides. Such antibodies can then be used to isolate the polypeptide from tissue expressing that polypeptide.

Polypeptide derivatives include antigenically or immunologically equivalent derivatives which form a particular aspect of this invention.

The term `antigenically equivalent derivative` as used herein encompasses a polypeptide or its equivalent which will be specifically recognised by certain antibodies which, when raised to the protein or polypeptide according to the present invention, interfere with the immediate physical interaction between pathogen and mammalian host.

The term `immunologically equivalent derivative` as used herein encompasses a peptide or its equivalent which when used in a suitable formulation to raise antibodies in a vertebrate, the antibodies act to interfere with the immediate physical interaction between pathogen and mammalian host.

In particular derivatives which are slightly longer or slightly shorter than the native cell surface protein or polypeptide fragment of the present invention may be used. In addition, polypeptides in which one or more of the amino acid residues are modified may be used. Such peptides may, for example, be prepared by substitution, addition, or rearrangement of amino acids or by chemical modification thereof. All such substitutions and modifications are generally well known to those skilled in the art of peptide chemistry.

The N-terminal fragment of the protein relative to the LPXTG motif, i.e. not in the cytoplasm, is most relevant for the preparation of antibodies to the regions of proteins (see--Binding and activation of plasminogen at the surface of Staphylococus aureus Kuusela, P and Saksela, O. [1990] Eur. J. Biochem 193: 759-65).

The polypeptide, such as an antigenically or immunologically equivalent derivative or a fusion protein thereof is used as an antigen to immunize a mouse or other animal such as a rat or chicken. The fusion protein may provide stability to the polypeptide. The antigen may be associated, for example by conjugation, with an immunogenic carrier protein for example bovine serum albumin (BSA) or keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH). Alternatively a multiple antigenic peptide comprising multiple copies of the protein or polypeptide, or an antigenically or immunologically equivalent polypeptide thereof may be sufficiently antigenic to improve immunogenicity so as to obviate the use of a carrier.

For preparation of monoclonal antibodies, any technique which provides antibodies produced by continuous cell line cultures can be used. Examples include the hybridoma technique (Kohler and Milstein, 1975, Nature, 256:495-497), the trioma technique, the human B-cell hybridoma technique (Kozbor et al., 1983, Immunology Today 4:72), and the EBV-hybridoma technique to produce human monoclonal antibodies (Cole, et al., 1985, in Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R. Liss, Inc., pp. 77-96).

Techniques described for the production of single chain antibodies (U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778) can be adapted to produce single chain antibodies to immunogenic polypeptide products of this invention.

Using the procedure of Kohler and Milstein (1975 Nature 256, 495-497), antibody-containing cells from the immunised mammal are fused with myeloma cells to create hybridoma cells secreting monoclonal antibodies.

The hybridomas are screened to select a cell line with high binding affinity and favorable cross reaction with other staphylococcal species using one or more of the original polypeptide and/or the fusion protein. The selected cell line is cultured to obtain the desired Mab.

Hybridoma cell lines secreting the monoclonal antibody are another aspect of this invention.

Alternatively phage display technology could be utilised to select antibody genes with binding activities towards the polypeptide either from repertoires of PCR amplified v-genes of lymphocytes from humans screened for possessing anti-Fbp or from naive libraries (McCafferty, J. et al., (1990), Nature 348, 552-554; Marks, J. et al., (1992) Biotechnology 10, 779-783). The affinity of these antibodies can also be improved by chain shuffling (Clackson, T. et al., (1991) Nature 352, 624-628).

The antibody should be screened again for high affinity to the polypeptide and/or fusion protein.

As mentioned above, a fragment of the final antibody may be prepared.

The antibody may be either intact antibody of M.sub.r approx 150,000 or a derivative of it, for example a Fab fragment or a Fv fragment as described in Skerra, A and Pluckthun, A (1988) Science 240 1038-1040. If two antigen binding domains are present each domain may be directed against a different epitope--termed `bispecific` antibodies.

The antibody of the invention may be prepared by conventional means for example by established monoclonal antibody technology (Kohler, G. and Milstein, C. (1975), Nature, 256, 495-497) or using recombinant means e.g. combinatorial libraries, for example as described in Huse, W. D. et al., (1989) Science 246, 1275-1281.

Preferably the antibody is prepared by expression of a DNA polymer encoding said antibody in an appropriate expression system such as described above for the expression of polypeptides of the invention. The choice of vector for the expression system will be determined in part by the host, which may be a prokaryotic cell, such as E. coli (preferably strain B) or Streptomyces sp. or a eukaryotic cell, such as a mouse C127, mouse myeloma, human HeLa, Chinese hamster ovary, filamentous or unicellular fungi or insect cell. The host may also be a transgenic animal or a transgenic plant [for example as described in Hiatt, A et al.,(1989) Nature 34, 76-78]. Suitable vectors include plasmids, bacteriophages, cosmids and recombinant viruses, derived from, for example, baculoviruses and vaccinia.

The Fab fragment may also be prepared from its parent monoclonal antibody by enzyme treatment, for example using papain to cleave the Fab portion from the Fc portion.

Preferably the antibody or derivative thereof is modified to make it less immunogenic in the patient. For example, if the patient is human the antibody may most preferably be `humanised`; where the complimentarity determining region(s) of the hybridoma-derived antibody has been transplanted into a human monoclonal antibody, for example as described in Jones, P. et al (1986), Nature 321, 522-525 or Tempest et al.,(1991) Biotechnology 9, 266-273.

The modification need not be restricted to one of `humanisation`; other primate sequences (for example Newman, R. et al. 1992, Biotechnology,10, 1455-1460) may also be used.

The humanised monoclonal antibody, or its fragment having binding activity, form a particular aspect of this invention.

This invention provides a method of screening drugs to identify those which interfere with the interaction of the cell surface protein or active fragment to mammalian cells, the method comprising incubating a mammalian cell or membrane preparation with labeled polypeptide in the presence of the drug and measuring the ability of the drug to block this interaction.

The use of a polynucleotide of the invention in genetic immunisation will preferably employ a suitable delivery method such as direct injection of plasmid DNA into muscles (Wolff et al., Hum Mol Genet 1992, 1:363, Manthorpe et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 1963:4, 419), delivery of DNA complexed with specific protein carriers (Wu et al., J Biol Chem 1989:264,16985), coprecipitation of DNA with calcium phosphate (Benvenisty & Reshef, PNAS,1986:83,9551), encapsulation of DNA in various forms of liposomes (Kaneda et al., Science 1989:243,375), particle bombardment (Tang et al., Nature 1992, 356:152, Eisenbraun et al., DNA Cell Biol 1993, 12:791) and in vivo infection using cloned retroviral vectors (Seeger et al, PNAS 1984:81,5849). Suitable promoters for muscle transfection include CMV, RSV, SRa, actin, MCK, alpha globin, adenovirus and dihydrofolate reductase.

In therapy or as a prophylactic, the active agent may be administered to a patient as an injectable composition, for example as a sterile aqueous dispersion, preferably isotonic.

Alternatively the composition may be formulated for topical application for example in the form of ointments, creams, lotions, eye ointments, eye drops, ear drops, mouthwash, impregnated dressings and sutures and aerosols, and may contain appropriate conventional additives, including, for example, preservatives, solvents to assist drug penetration, and emollients in ointments and creams. Such topical formulations may also contain compatible conventional carriers, for example cream or ointment bases, and ethanol or oleyl alcohol for lotions. Such carriers may constitute from about 1% to about 98% by weight of the formulation; more usually they will constitute up to about 80% by weight of the formulation.

For administration to human patients, it is expected that the daily dosage level of the active agent will be from 0.01 to 10 mg/kg, typically around 1 mg/kg. The physician in any event will determine the actual dosage which will be most suitable for an individual patient and will vary with the age, weight and response of the particular patient. The above dosages are exemplary of the average case. There can, of course, be individual instances where higher or lower dosage ranges are merited, and such are within the scope of this invention.

In-dwelling devices include surgical implants, prosthetic devices and catheters, i.e., devices that are introduced to the body of a patient and remain in position for an extended time. Such devices include, for example, artificial joints, heart valves, pacemakers, vascular grafts, vascular catheters, cerebrospinal fluid shunts, urinary catheters, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) catheters, etc.

The composition of the invention may be administered by injection to achieve a systemic effect against relevant bacteria shortly before insertion of an in-dwelling device. Treatment may be continued after surgery during the in-body time of the device. In addition, the composition could also be used to broaden perioperative cover for any surgical technique to prevent staphylococcal wound infections.

Many orthopaedic surgeons consider that patients with prosthetic joints should be considered for antibiotic prophylaxis before dental treatment that could produce a bacteraemia. Late deep infection is a serious complication sometimes leading to loss of the prosthetic joint and is accompanied by significant morbidity and mortality. It may therefore be possible to extend the use of the active agent as a replacement for prophylactic antibiotics in this situation.

In addition to the therapy described above, the compositions of this invention may be used generally as a wound treatment agent to prevent adhesion of bacteria to matrix proteins exposed in wound tissue and for prophylactic use in dental treatment as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, antibiotic prophylaxis.

Alternatively, the composition of the invention may be used to bathe an indwelling device immediately before insertion. The active agent will preferably be present at a concentration of 1 .mu.g/ml to 10 mg/ml for bathing of wounds or indwelling devices.

A vaccine composition is conveniently in injectable form. Conventional adjuvants may be employed to enhance the immune response.

A suitable unit dose for vaccination is 0.5-5 .mu.g/kg of antigen, and such dose is preferably administered 1-3 times and with an interval of 1-3 weeks.

With the indicated dose range, no adverse toxicological effects will be observed with the compounds of the invention which would preclude their administration to suitable patients.

The antibodies described above may also be used as diagnostic reagents to detect the presence of bacteria containing the cell surface protein.

In order to facilitate understanding of the following example certain frequently occurring methods and/or terms will be described. "Plasmids" are designated by a lower case p preceded and/or followed by capital letters and/or numbers. The starting plasmids herein are either commercially available, publicly available on an unrestricted basis, or can be constructed from available plasmids in accord with published procedures. In addition, equivalent plasmids to those described are known in the art and will be apparent to the ordinarily skilled artisan. "Digestion" of DNA refers to catalytic cleavage of the DNA with a restriction enzyme that acts only at certain sequences in the DNA. The various restriction enzymes used herein are commercially available and their reaction conditions, cofactors and other requirements were used as would be known to the ordinarily skilled artisan. For analytical purposes, typically 1 .mu.g of plasmid or DNA fragment is used with about 2 units of enzyme in about 20 .mu.l of buffer solution. For the purpose of isolating DNA fragments for plasmid construction, typically 5 to 50 .mu.g of DNA are digested with 20 to 250 units of enzyme in a larger volume. Appropriate buffers and substrate amounts for particular restriction enzymes are specified by the manufacturer. Incubation times of about 1 hour at 37 C. are ordinarily used, but may vary in accordance with the supplier's instructions. After digestion the reaction is electrophoresed directly on a polyacrylamide gel to isolate the desired fragment.

Size separation of the cleaved fragments is performed using 8 percent polyacrylamide gel described by Goeddel, D. et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 8:4057 (1980).

"Oligonucleotides" refers to either a single stranded polydeoxynucleotide or two complementary polydeoxynucleotide strands which may be chemically synthesized. Such synthetic oligonucleotides have no 5' phosphate and thus will not ligate to another oligonucleotide without adding a phosphate with an ATP in the presence of a kinase. A synthetic oligonucleotide will ligate to a fragment that has not been dephosphorylated.

"Ligation" refers to the process of forming phosphodiester bonds between two double stranded nucleic acid fragments (Maniatis, T., et al., Id., p. 146). Unless otherwise provided, ligation may be accomplished using known buffers and conditions with 10 units to T4 DNA ligase ("ligase") per 0.5 .mu.g of approximately equimolar amounts of the DNA fragments to be ligated.

Isolation of DNA Coding for Novel Cell Surface Protein from S. Aureus WCUH 29

The polynucleotide having the DNA sequence given in SEQ ID NO 2 was obtained from a library of clones of chromosomal DNA of S. aureus WCUH 29 in E. coli. In some cases the sequencing data from two or more clones containing overlapping S. aureus WCUH 29 DNA was used to construct the contiguous DNA sequence in SEQ ID No 2. Libraries may be prepared by routine methods, for example:

Methods 1 and 2

Total cellular DNA is isolated from Staphylococcus aureus strain WCUH29 (NCIMB 40771) according to standard procedures and size-fractionated by either of two methods.

Method 1

Total cellular DNA is mechanically sheared by passage through a needle in order to size-fractionate according to standard procedures. DNA fragments of up to 11 kbp in size are rendered blunt by treatment with exonuclease and DNA polymerase, and EcoRI linkers added. Fragments are ligated into the vector Lambda ZapII that has been cut with EcoRI, the library packaged by standard procedures and E. coli infected with the packaged library. The library is amplified by standard procedures.

Method 2

Total cellular DNA is partially hydrolsed with a combination of four restriction enzymes (RsaI, PalI, AluI and Bsh1235I) and size-fractionated according to standard procedures. EcoRI linkers are ligated to the DNA and the fragments then ligated into the vector Lambda ZapII that have been cut with EcoRI, the library packaged by standard procedures, and E. coli infected with the packaged library. The library is amplified by standard procedures. Example 2

The Determination of Expression During Infection of a Gene From Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29

Necrotic fatty tissue from a four day groin infection of Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 in the mouse is efficiently disrupted and processed in the presence of chaotropic agents and RNAase inhibitor to provide a mixture of animal and bacterial RNA. The optimal conditions for disruption and processing to give stable preparations and high yields of bacterial RNA are followed by the use of hybridisation to a radiolabelled-oligonucleotide specific to Staphylococcus aureus 16S RNA on Northern blots. The RNAase free, DNAase free, DNA and protein free preparations of RNA obtained are suitable for Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-PCR) using unique primer pairs designed from the sequence of each gene of Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29.

a) Isolation of tissue infected with Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 from a mouse animal model of infection

10 ml. volumes of sterile nutrient broth (No.2 Oxoid) are seeded with isolated, individual colonies of Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 from an agar culture plate. The cultures are incubated aerobically (static culture) at 37 degrees C. for 16-20 hours . 4 week old mice (female, 18 g-22 g, strain MF1) are each infected by subcutaneous injection of 0.5 ml. of this broth culture of Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 (diluted in broth to approximately 10.sup.8 cfu/ml.) into the anterior, right lower quadrant (groin area). Mice should be monitored regularly during the first 24 hours after infection, then daily until termination of study. Animals with signs of systemic infection, i.e. lethargy, ruffled appearance, isolation from group, should be monitored closely and if signs progress to moribundancy, the animal should be culled immediately.

Visible external signs of lesion development will be seen 24-48 h after infection. Examination of the abdomen of the animal will show the raised outline of the abscess beneath the skin. The localised lesion should remain in the right lower quadrant, but may occasionally spread to the left lower quadrant, and superiorly to the thorax. On occasions, the abscess may rupture through the overlying skin layers. In such cases the affected animal should be culled immediately and the tissues sampled if possible. Failure to cull the animal may result in the necrotic skin tissue overlying the abscess being sloughed off, exposing the abdominal muscle wall.

Approximately 96 h after infection, animals are killed using carbon dioxide asphyxiation. To minimise delay between death and tissue processing/storage, mice should be killed individually rather than in groups. The dead animal is placed onto its back and the fur swabbed liberally with 70% alcohol. An initial incision using scissors is made through the skin of the abdominal left lower quadrant, travelling superiorly up to, then across the thorax. The incision is completed by cutting inferiorly to the abdominal lower right quadrant. Care should be taken not to penetrate the abdominal wall. Holding the skin flap with forceps, the skin is gently pulled way from the abdomen. The exposed abscess, which covers the peritoneal wall but generally does not penetrate the muscle sheet completely, is excised, taking care not to puncture the viscera.

The abscess/muscle sheet and other infected tissue may require cutting in sections, prior to flash-freezing in liquid nitrogen, thereby allowing easier storage in plastic collecting vials.

b) Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 RNA from infected tissue samples

4-6 infected tissue samples(each approx 0.5-0.7 g) in 2 ml screw-cap tubes are removed from -80.degree. C. storage into a dry ice ethanol bath In a microbiological safety cabinet the samples are disrupted individually whilst the remaining samples are kept cold in the dry ice ethanol bath. To disrupt the bacteria within the tissue sample 1 ml of TRIzol Reagent (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies) is added followed by enough 0.1 mm zirconia/silica beads to almost fill the tube, the lid is replaced taking care not to get any beads into the screw thread so as to ensure a good seal and eliminate aerosol generation. The sample is then homogenised in a Mini-BeadBeater Type BX-4 (Biospec Products). Necrotic fatty tissue is treated for 100 seconds at 5000 rpm in order to achieve bacterial lysis. In vivo grown bacteria require longer treatment than in vitro grown S. aureus WCUH29 which are disrupted by a 30 second bead-beat.

After bead-beating the tubes are chilled on ice before opening in a fume-hood as heat generated during disruption may degrade the TRIzol and release cyanide.

200 microliters of chloroform is then added and the tubes shaken by hand for 15 seconds to ensure complete mixing. After 2-3 minutes at room temperature the tubes are spun down at 12,000.times.g, 4.degree. C. for 15 minutes and RNA extraction is then continued according to the method given by the manufacturers of TRIzol Reagent i.e.:--The aqueous phase, approx 0.6 ml, is transferred to a sterile eppendorf tube and 0.5 ml of isopropanol is added. After 10 minutes at room temperature the samples are spun at 12,000.times.g, 4.degree. C. for 10 minutes. The supernatant is removed and discarded then the RNA pellet is washed with 1 ml 75% ethanol. A brief vortex is used to mix the sample before centrifuging at 7,500.times.g, 4.degree. C. for 5 minutes. The ethanol is removed and the RNA pellet dried under vacuum for no more than 5 minutes. Samples are then resuspended by repeated pipetting in 100 microliters of DEPC treated water, followed by 5-10 minutes at 55.degree. C. Finally, after at least 1 minute on ice, 200 units of Rnasin (Promega) is added.

RNA preparations are stored at -80.degree. C. for up to one month. For longer term storage the RNA precipitate can be stored at the wash stage of the protocol in 75% ethanol for at least one year at -20.degree. C.

Quality of the RNA isolated is assessed by running samples on 1% agarose gels. 1.times.TBE gels stained with ethidium bromide are used to visualise total RNA yields. To demonstrate the isolation of bacterial RNA from the infected tissue 1.times.MOPS, 2.2M formaldehyde gels are run and vacuum blotted to Hybond-N (Amersham). The blot is then hybridised with a .sup.32 P labelled oligonucletide probe specific to 16 s rRNA of S. aureus (K.Greisen, M. Loeffelholz, A. Purohit and D. Leong. J. Clin. (1994) Microbiol.32 335-351). An oligonucleotide of the sequence.

5'-gctcctaaaaggttactccaccggc-3' [SEQ ID NO:5]

is used as a probe. The size of the hybridising band is compared to that of control RNA isolated from in vitro grown S. aureus WCUH29 in the Northern blot. Correct sized bacterial 16 s rRNA bands can be detected in total RNA samples which show extensive degradation of the mammalian RNA when visualised on TBE gels.

c) The removal of DNA from Staphylococcus aureus WCUH29 derived RNA

DNA was removed from 73 microliter samples of RNA by a 15 minute treatment on ice with 3 units of DNAaseI, amplification grade (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies) in the buffer supplied with the addition of 200 units of Rnasin (Promega) in a final volume of 90 microliters.

The DNAase was inactivated and removed by treatment with TRIzol LS Reagent (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies) according to the manufacturers protocol. DNAase treated RNA was resuspended in 73 microliters of DEPC treated water with the addition of Rnasin as described in Method 1.

d) The preparation of cDNA from RNA samples derived from infected tissue

10 microliter samples of DNAase treated RNA are reverse transcribed using a SuperScript Preamplification System for First Strand cDNA Synthesis kit (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies) according to the manufacturers instructions. 1 nanogram of random hexamers is used to prime each reaction. Controls without the addition of SuperScriptII reverse transcriptase are also run. Both +/-RT samples are treated with RNaseH before proceeding to the PCR reaction

e) The use of PCR to determine the presence of a bacterial cDNA species

PCR reactions are set up on ice in 0.2 ml tubes by adding the following components:

45 microliters PCR SUPERMIX (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies).

1 microliter 50 mM MgCl.sub.2, to adjust final concentration to 2.5 mM.

1 microliter PCR primers(optimally 18-25 basepairs in length and designed to possess similar annealing temperatures), each primer at 10 mM initial concentration.

2 microliters cDNA.

PCR reactions are run on a Perkin Elmer GeneAmp PCR System 9600 as follows: 5 minutes at 95.degree. C., then 50 cycles of 30 seconds each at 94.degree. C., 42.degree. C. and 72.degree. C. followed by 3 minutes at 72.degree. C. and then a hold temperature of 4.degree. C. (the number of cycles is optimally 30-50 to determine the appearance or lack of a PCR product and optimally 8-30 cycles if an estimation of the starting quantity of cDNA from the RT reaction is to be made).

10 microliter aliquots are then run out on 1% 1.times.TBE gels stained with ethidium bromide with PCR product, if present, sizes estimated by comparison to a 100 bp DNA Ladder (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies). Alternatively if the PCR products are conveniently labelled by the use of a labelled PCR primer (e.g. labelled at the 5' end with a dye) a suitable aliquot of the PCR product is run out on a polyacrylamide sequencing gel and its presence and quantity detected using a suitable gel scanning system (e.g. ABI Prism.TM. 377 Sequencer using GeneScan.TM. software as supplied by Perkin Elmer).

RT/PCR controls may include +/- reverse transcriptase reactions, 16 s rRNA primers or DNA specific primer pairs designed to produce PCR products from non-transcribed S. aureus WCUH29 genomic sequences.

To test the efficiency of the primer pairs they are used in DNA PCR with WCUH29 total DNA. PCR reactions are set up and run as described above using approx. 1 microgram of DNA in place of the cDNA and 35 cycles of PCR.

Primer pairs which fail to give the predicted sized product in either DNA PCR or RT/PCR are PCR failures and as such are uninformative. Of those which give the correct size product with DNA PCR two classes are distinguished in RT/PCR:

1. Genes which are not transcribed in vivo reproducibly fail to give a product in RT/PCR.

2. Genes which are transcribed in vivo reproducibly give the correct size product in RT/PCR and show a stronger signal in the +RT samples than the signal (if at all present) in -RT controls.

The following nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO 2) was identified in the above test as transcribed in vivo. Deduced amino acid sequence is given as SEQ ID NO 1. A pair of PCR primers useful to identify the gene are for example, 5'-ctatacatat agtagtgg-3'[SEQ ID NO 3] and 5'-ttacttttgg atggtata-3' [SEQ ID NO 4].