Treatment or prophylaxis of diseases caused by pilus-forming bacteria

A method for identifying and/or designing a substance, X, which interacts with a periplasmic molecular chaperone or an analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone, the method comprising:

• 1) selecting a substance, A, which could potentially interact with a site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone, and providing a 3-dimensional structural representation thereof,
• 2) predicting the binding free energy between the substance A and the site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone,
• 3) if the predicted binding free energy favors binding of substance A to the site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone over the existence of substance A and the periplasmic molecular chaperone or the analogue thereof as separate entities in solution, then identifying the substance A as the substance X,
• 4) if the predicted binding free energy does not favor binding of the substance A to the site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone over the existence of the substance A and the periplasmic molecular chaperone or analogue thereof as separate entities in solution, then modifying the 3-dimensional structural representation and predicting the binding free energy between the thus modified substance, B, and the site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone, and
• 5) repeating step 4 until the predicted binding free energy favors binding of the resulting substance, X, to the site in the periplasmic molecular chaperone or in the analogue of the periplasmic molecular chaperone over the existence of the substance A and the periplasmic molecular chaperone or analogue thereof as separate entities in solution.