The present invention includes the discovery of a strain of Mycobacterium comprising an expression vector encoding a di-adenylate cyclase enzyme. The Mycobacterium is selected from the group consisting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, or a combination thereof and the preferred strain of Mycobacterium is BCG. The preferred expression vector is a mycobacterial expression vector including an hsp60 promoter and a DNA sequence of diadenylate cyclase (disA), or a functional part thereof. The strains of Mycobacterium are used in therapeutic applications including tuberculosis and cancer.

The present invention includes the discovery of a strain of Mycobacterium comprising an expression vector encoding a di-adenylate cyclase enzyme. The Mycobacterium is selected from the group consisting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, or a combination thereof and the preferred strain of Mycobacterium is BCG. The preferred expression vector is a mycobacterial expression vector including an hsp60 promoter and a DNA sequence of diadenylate cyclase (disA), or a functional part thereof. The strains of Mycobacterium are used in therapeutic applications including tuberculosis and cancer.

Antigenic surface proteins expressed by Mycobacterium bovis under conditions that mimic the natural environment in a host are described. Use of the identified surface proteins in immunogenic compositions for immunization against M. bovis are also described. Nucleic acid molecules and plasmids encoding the M. bovis surface proteins are further described.

Antigenic surface proteins expressed by Mycobacterium bovis under conditions that mimic the natural environment in a host are described. Use of the identified surface proteins in immunogenic compositions for immunization against M. bovis are also described. Nucleic acid molecules and plasmids encoding the M. bovis surface proteins are further described.

The invention relates to the novel use of an immunogenic formulation containing the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) strain at a concentration between 104-109 bacteria, expressing at least one protein or immunogenic fragment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, Human orthopneumovirus), in a pharmaceutically acceptable saline buffer solution because it serves to prepare a vaccine useful to prevent, treat, or attenuate human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infections.

The present disclosure provides, in part, peptide self-assemblies that are made into tablet form and methods of making and using the same. In some embodiments, the disclosure provides methods and formulations for a tabletized form of a vaccine, particularly a vaccine comprising self-assembling peptide-polymer nanofibers, an excipient and an adjuvant. Methods of making and using the tablet formulation are also provided.

Methods of producing a pathogen with reduced replicative fitness are disclosed, as are attenuated pathogens produced using the methods. In particular examples, the method includes deoptimizing one or more codons in a coding sequence, thereby reducing the replicative fitness of the pathogen. Methods of using the attenuated pathogens as immunogenic compositions are also disclosed.

The present invention is directed to an isolated synthetic tripeptide of formula H-D-Phe-N-Methyl-L-Val-L-Ala-OMe (SEQ ID NO:1), or a derivative thereof, and to the corresponding lipotripeptides, which are specific to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) S-type strain, as well as derivatives and conjugates thereof. The invention also concerns the use of these antigens in different methods and tests for detecting Map infection, especially by detecting humoral response and cell mediated response of infected animals. The invention is also directed to a genetic signature of Map and a mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy signature of Map presence or infection.

The present invention is directed to an isolated synthetic tripeptide of formula H-D-Phe-N-Methyl-L-Val-L-Ala-OMe (SEQ ID NO:1), or a derivative thereof, and to the corresponding lipotripeptides, which are specific to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) S-type strain, as well as derivatives and conjugates thereof. The invention also concerns the use of these antigens in different methods and tests for detecting Map infection, especially by detecting humoral response and cell mediated response of infected animals. The invention is also directed to a genetic signature of Map and a mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy signature of Map presence or infection.

Disclosed herein are methods for generating a protective immunogenic response via intranasal administration of an immunogenic composition (e.g., vaccine)/therapeutic immunogenic composition in a mammalian subject. Certain dosing positions of the subject during the administration of immunogenic agents, such that nostrils are tilted upwards, while in a modified sitting, reclining and/or supine posture, is surprisingly correlated with the generation of a strong immunogenic response in both humans and animals.