Patent ID: 7238489
Filing Date: 2007-07-03
Classification: A61P,C07K,C12N

Abstract:
1. A method for screening a compound for anti-sortase-transamidase activity comprising the steps of: (a) providing a substantially purified sortase-transamidase enzyme produced by a process comprising the steps of: (i) culturing a host cell transfected with a vector, said vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a sortase-transamidase enzyme from a Gram-positive bacterium, the enzyme catalyzing a reaction that covalently cross-links the carboxyl terminus of a protein having a sorting signal to the peptidoglycan of a Gram-positive bacterium, the sorting signal having a motif of LPX said vector being operatively linked to at least one control sequence that controls the expression or regulation of the nucleic acid sequence, said culturing comprising culturing said host cell under conditions in which the host cell expresses the encoded sortase-transamidase enzyme; and (ii) purifying the expressed enzyme to produce substantially purified sortase-transamidase enzyme; (b) performing an assay for sortase-transamidase in the presence and in the absence of the compound; and (c) comparing the activity of the sortase-transamidase enzyme in the presence and in the absence of the compound to screen the compound for sortase-transamidase activity.