Patent ID: 7666626

Claim:
An isolated nucleotide molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence that has at least 90% identity to a nucleic acid sequence encoding a P4 variant protein of NTHi that has reduced phosphatase activity compared to wild-type P4 protein and that induces antibody to wild-type P4 protein, said antibody having bactericidal activity against NTHi, wherein the P4 variant protein has a mutation selected from the group consisting of: (a) a glutamic acid, aspartic acid or asparagine in place of glutamine at wild-type amino acid residue 39 of SEQ ID NO:3; (b) a cysteine, serine or other amino acids which have uncharged polar groups in place of phenylalanine at wild-type amino acid residue 48 of SEQ ID NO:3; (c) an asparagine, glutamic acid or alanine in place of aspartic acid at wild-type amino acid residue 64 of SEQ ID NO:3; (d) an arginine in place of lysine at wild-type amino acid residue 161 of SEQ ID NO:3; (e) a glutamine, aspartic acid or glutamic acid in place of asparagine at wild-type amino acid residue 218 of SEQ ID NO:3; (f) an asparagine in place of alanine at wild-type amino acid residues 35 and 37 of SEQ ID NO:3; (g) an alanine, asparagine or glutamic acid in place of aspartic acid at wild-type amino acid residues 64 and 66 of SEQ ID NO:3; and (h) combinations of one or more of the mutations of (a)-(g), where the nucleic acid sequence encodes at least one of the mutations of (a)-(g).