Chemically programmable immunity
Methods and compositions for immediately immunizing an individual against any molecule or compound. The present invention comprises an immunity linker with at least two sites; (1) at least one first binding site that binds to an immune response component in an individual that has been pre-immunized with a universal immunogen, and (2) at least one second binding site that binds specifically to a desired compound or molecule, the target.
1. A method of increasing an immune response to a target in an individual comprising, administering to the individual an effective amount of a composition comprising
one or more immunity linkers, wherein the immunity linkers comprise at least one first binding site and at least one second binding site,
wherein the first binding site comprises a first polypeptide expressed by a first bacteriophage and
wherein the second binding site comprises a second polypeptide expressed by the first bacteriophage,
wherein the second binding site binds to the target and
wherein the individual has a pre-existing immune response to the first binding site, and
wherein the immune response is selected from a cellular immune response, and a humoral immune response, and an innate immune response.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-existing immune response is induced by administering to the individual a universal immunogen comprising the first binding site.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-existing immune response is induced by administering to the individual a universal immunogen that is an immunological equivalent of the first binding site.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-existing immune response exists in the individual without administration of a universal immunogen.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target is a pathogen.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-existing immune response is induced by administering to the individual a universal immunogen comprising a second bacteriophage that expresses the first polypeptide.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first bacteriophage and/or the second bacteriophage are each contained within one or more bacteria.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the individual is unable to mount an effective immune response to the target prior to administration of the immunity linker.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises one or more different immunity linkers wherein the first binding sites differ in
a) their specificity for different immune response components, or
b) their affinity for the same immune response component.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the immune response component comprises an antibody.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises one or more different immunity linkers comprising second binding sites that differ in
a) their specificity for different epitopes on the target, or
b) their affinity for the same epitope on the target.
12. A method of diverting a pre-existing immune response in an individual from an antigen to a target comprising, administering to the individual an effective amount of a composition comprising
one or more immunity linkers, wherein the linkers comprise at least one first binding site and at least one second binding site,
wherein the second binding site binds to the target and wherein the antigen comprises the first binding site,
wherein the first binding site comprises a first polypeptide expressed by a first bacteriophage and
wherein the second binding site comprises a second polypeptide expressed by the first bacteriophage.