| 摘要 |
<p>A method is provided for identifying, isolating, and producing lipooligosaccharide (LOS) mutants of gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The method comprises mutating the laft gene of a gram-negative bacterial pathogen so that there is a lack of a functional Lipid A fatty acid transferase protein. The resulting LOS mutants lack one or more secondary acyl chains as compared to the LOS contained in the wild type gram-negative bacterial pathogen. The LOS isolated from the laft mutants displays substantially reduced toxicity as compared to that of the wild type strain. Also, the present invention provides methods for using a vaccine formulation containing the laft mutants, the endotoxin isolated therefrom, or the endotoxin isolated therefrom which is then conjugated to a carrier protein, to immunize an individual against infections caused by gram-negative bacterial pathogens by administering a prophylactically effective amount of the vaccine formulation.</p> |
