Abstract: Immununological compositions and methods for making and using them. The compositions contain at least one antigen and at least one lipoprotein and optionally an adjuvant. The lipoprotein can itself be antigenic or immunogenic. The antigen can be influenza HA and the lipoprotein a recombinantly expressed product having an OspA leader for lipidation and PspA for the protein portion. The antigen can be OspC and the lipoprotein OspA. The components of the composition are co-administered. A potentiated immunological response is obtained by the compositions and methods.

Abstract: Immunological compositions and methods for making and using them. The compositions contain at least one antigen and at least one lipoprotein and optionally an adjuvant. The lipoprotein can itself be antigenic or immunogenic. The antigen can be influenza HA and the lipoprotein a recombinantly expressed product having an OspA leader for lipidation and PspA for the protein portion. The antigen can be OspC and the lipoprotein OspA. The components of the composition are co-administered. A potentiated immunological response is obtained by the compositions and methods.

Abstract: Heterologous lipidated proteins formed recombinantly are disclosed and claimed. The expression system can be E. coli. The heterologous lipidated protein has a leader sequence which does not naturally occur with the protein portion of the lipidated protein. The lipidated protein can have the Borrelia OspA leader sequence. The protein portion can be OspC, PspA, UreA, Ure B, or a fragment thereof. Methods and compositions for forming and employing the proteins are also disclosed and claimed.

Abstract: Pertactin (formerly 69 kDa protein) is recovered in stable biologically pure form having no detectable adenylate cyclase activity from fermentation broth from the fermentation of Bordetella pertussis as well as from the cells. The broth is processed to selectively remove pertussis toxin (PT) and filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), the pertactin is precipitated by ammonium sulphate and the precipitate is dissolved in buffer at pH 6.0 to 8.5, the solution then is passed through hydroxyapatite and ion-exchange chromatograph columns before final ultrafiltration. Cells are extracted with urea and the extract ultrafiltered and diafiltered. The pertactin is precipitated from the extract and the precipitate processed as above. In a variation, the broth is contacted with ammonium sulphate to precipitate pertactin, PT and FHA, the precipitate is dissolved and the PT and FHA selectively removed, before the solution is passed to the chromatograph columns.

Abstract: Immunological compositions and methods for making and using them. The compositions contain at least one antigen and at least one lipoprotein and optionally an adjuvant. The lipoprotein can itself be antigenic or immunogenic. The antigen can be influenza HA and the lipoprotein a recombinantly expressed product having an OspA leader for lipidation and PspA for the protein portion. The antigen can be OspC and the lipoprotein OspA. The components of the composition are co-administered. A potentiated immunological response is obtained by the compositions and methods.

Abstract: Immunological compositions and methods for making and using them. The compositions contain an antigen and a lipoprotein and optionally an adjuvant. The lipoprotein can itself be antigenic or immurogenic. The antigen can be influenza HA and the lipoprotein a recombinantly expressed product having an OspA leader for lipidation and PspA for the protein portion. The antigen can be OspC and the lipoprotein OspA. The components of the composition are co-administered. A potentiated immunological response is obtained by the compositions and methods.

Abstract: An enhanced immune response to antigens, particularly normally weakly-immunogenic viral antigens, such as the HA antigen from influenza virus, is achieved by coadministering the antigen in two different physio-chemical forms, particularly to enable presentation of antigen both by B cells and accessory cells.

Abstract: The present invention relates to immunological adjuvants comprised of the N-formyl methionyl peptide fMLP. FMLP, when used as an adjuvant in accordance with the present invention, provides for an immune response to suboptimal doses of recombinant antigens.

Abstract: Disclosed and claimed are a method for the covalent attachment of poly- and oligosaccharides to protein molecules via hydrogen peroxide depolymerization of the polysaccharide units, followed by attachment of the depolymerized polysaccharide chain to the amino acid groups of a protein of interest through a linker molecule, and products therefrom, and methods for using the products.

Abstract: An enhanced immune response to antigens, particularly normally weakly-immunogenic viral antigens, such as the HA antigen from influenza virus, is achieved by coadministering the antigen in two different physiochemical forms, particularly to enable presentation of antigen both by B cells and accessory cells.

Abstract: An enhanced immune response to antigens, particularly normally weakly-immunogenic viral antigens, such as the HA antigen from influenza virus, is achieved by coadministering the antigen in two different physio-chemical forms, particularly to enable presentation of antigen both by B cells and accessory cells.

Abstract: Animals, including humans, are immunized by antigens, for example, the HA antigen of influenza, by first administering to a naive animal a normally strongly-immunogenic form of the antigen, for example, inactiviated or attenuated whole cell virus and subsequently administering a normally weakly-immunogenic isolated and purified viral antigen, to achieve an enhanced immune response to the purified viral antigen.

Abstract: Animals, including humans, are immunized by antigens, for example, the HA antigen of influenza, by first administering to a naive animal a normally strongly-immunogenic form of the antigen, for example, inactivated or attenuated whole cell virus and subsequently administering a normally weakly-immunogenic isolated and purified viral antigen, to achieve an enhanced immune response to the purified viral antigen.

Abstract: An enhanced immune response to antigens, particularly normally weakly-immunogenic viral antigens, such as the HA antigen from influenza virus, is achieved by coadministering the antigen in two different physio-chemical forms, particularly to enable presentation of antigen both by B cells and accessory cells.

Abstract: Conjugates of HA protein of influenza virus suitable for formulation as a vaccine for obtaining a strong immune response to the HA protein are formed by separating whole HA protein from the influenza virus by detergent extraction or by providing whole HA protein by recombinant procedure, treating the HA protein with hydroxylamine to form free sulfhydryl groups in the cytoplasmic domain of the protein, and cross-linking the free sulfhydryl group-containing HA protein to itself using a bis-maleimide linker or to a maleimide-modified diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid or influenza NP protein or other carrier molecule. The procedure is applicable to other proteins which can be separated from a cellular material, such as a virus, and which contain thioester bonds convertible to sulfhydryl groups.

Abstract: The dosage response of humans to conjugate vaccines comprising a bacterial polysaccharide and a strongly-immunogenic carrier protein is determined in animals by coadministering to the animal unconjugated strongly-immunogenic carrier protein in an amount corresponding, on a weight-related basis, to that administered to the human.

Abstract: Thimerosal is removed from aqueous effluent streams from vaccine production to provide an invironmentally-acceptable effluent stream. The thimerosal first is converted to ionic form by chlorination, the resulting solution is dechlorinated to remove dissolved unreacted chlorine, and then the ionic mercury is removed by ion-exchange employing thiol groups.

Abstract: A water-soluble covalent polysaccharide-diphtheria toxoid conjugate having a molecular weight between 140,000 and 4,500,000 dalton and a ribose/protein ratio between 0.25 and 0.75, capable of producing T-cell dependent antibody response to polysaccharide from H. influenzae b, is prepared by mixing a derivatized diphtheria toxoid in a substantially cyanogen halide-free solution with a cyanogen halide-activated capsular H. influenzae b polysaccharide hapten consisting of approximately equal parts of ribose, ribitol and phosphate, which polysaccharide had previously been heat sized until more than 60% attained a molecular size between 200,000 and 2,000,000 dalton.

Abstract: A water-soluble covalent polysaccharide-antigen conjugate having a molecular size between 140,000 and 4,500,000 dalton and a nominal polysaccharide/protein ratio between 0.25 and 2, capable of producing T-cell dependent antibody response to polysaccharide from a number of pathogenic bacterial organisms is prepared by mixing T-cell dependent antigen with an electrophilically activated polysaccharide hapten which polysaccharide had previously been heat sized until more than 60% attained a molecular size between 200,000 and 2,000,000 dalton.

Abstract: A water-soluble covalent polysaccharide-diphtheria toxoid conjugate having a molecular weight between 140,000 and 4,500,000 dalton and a ribose/protein ratio between 0.25 and 0.75, capable of producing T-cell dependent antibody response to polysaccharide from H. influenzae b, prepared by mixing a derivatized diphtheria toxoid in a substantially cyanogen halide-free solution with a cyanogen halide-activated capsular H. influenzae b polysaccharide hapten consisting of approximately equal parts of ribose, ribitol and phosphate, which polysaccharide had previously been heat sized until more than 60% attained a molecular size between 200,000 and 2,000,000 dalton.