Q1 · CROSS-FIELD
Article
Author: Broeker, Michael ; Ratti, Giulio ; Moxon, E. Richard ; Scarlato, Vincenzo ; Giuliani, Marzia Monica ; Capecchi, Barbara ; Marchetti, Elisa ; Nuti, Sandra ; Luzzi, Enrico ; Blair, Eric ; Rappuoli, Rino ; Hood, Derek W. ; Granoff, Dan M. ; Grandi, Guido ; Masignani, Vega ; Tettelin, Hervé ; Mason, Tanya ; Saunders, Nigel J. ; Mora, Marirosa ; Hundt, Erika ; Jennings, Gary T. ; Bartolini, Erika ; Manetti, Roberto ; Comanducci, Maurizio ; Pizza, Mariagrazia ; Storni, Elisa ; Aricò, Beatrice ; Galeotti, Cesira L. ; Savino, Silvana ; Baldi, Lucia ; Zuo, Peijun ; Jeffries, Alex C. ; Scarselli, Maria ; Santini, Laura ; Venter, J. Craig ; Knapp, Bernard
Neisseria meningitidis
is a major cause of bacterial septicemia and meningitis
.
Sequence variation of surface-exposed proteins and cross-reactivity of the serogroup B capsular polysaccharide with human tissues have hampered efforts to develop a successful vaccine. To overcome these obstacles, the entire genome sequence of a virulent serogroup B strain (MC58) was used to identify vaccine candidates. A total of 350 candidate antigens were expressed in
Escherichia coli
, purified, and used to immunize mice. The sera allowed the identification of proteins that are surface exposed, that are conserved in sequence across a range of strains, and that induce a bactericidal antibody response, a property known to correlate with vaccine efficacy in humans.