Diana M Catt

US Patent:

20050207995, Sep 22, 2005

Filed:

Apr 21, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/828837

Inventors:

Richard Gregory - Carmel IN, US
Diana Catt - Mooresville IN, US

International Classification:

A61K007/28

US Classification:

424050000

Abstract:

Described are methods and compositions for promoting oral health in a host that involve the administration of a 65 kDa protein from or a fragment or functional analog thereof, to the oral cavity of the host. The 65 kDa protein exhibits murein hydrolase enzyme activity and in inventive embodiments the enzyme or active fragments can be used to lyse bacteria commonly present in dental plaque or other surfaces of the oral cavity. Methods for controlling dental caries include administering non-immunogenic polypeptides from bacterial adhesions to competitively block bacterial attachment without implicating the immune system of the host. Novel isolated DNA encoding the 65 kDa protein or a fragment thereof, as well as recombinant forms of the protein or fragment, and methods for their production, are also described.