Breaking the bond: recent patents on bacterial adhesins.
Adhesins need to be exposed on the surface of pathogenic bacteria to properly interact with host tissues and allow establishment of the infection. This fact implies that, in theory, one could manage or avoid infection by controlling adhesins' function, and also by indirectly detecting bacteria through their surface-exposed adhesins. Besides, binding of anti-adhesin immunoglobulins on the bacterial surface tend to promote the opsonization of the pathogen. Therefore, bacterial adhesins represent a great target to develop new biopharmaceuticals, which may become commercially and medically important products. In this review, we will summarize the biological importance of bacterial adhesins, and also discuss some recent patents related to these molecules, as well as their use and possible new future developments in this area.
Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, Brazil. eneas@butantan.gov.br
Eneas
E
Carvalho
Ana Tung
AT
Ching Ching
Patricia Antonia
PA
Estima Abreu
Paulo Lee
PL
Ho
Angela Silva
AS
Barbosa
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D010330:Patents as Topic; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries / Q000627:therapeutic use
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries