The meningococcal vaccine candidate neisserial surface protein A (NspA) binds to factor H and enhances meningococcal resistance to complement.

ABSTRACT: Complement forms an important arm of innate immunity against invasive meningococcal infections. Binding of the alternative complement pathway inhibitor factor H (fH) to fH-binding protein (fHbp) is one mechanism meningococci employ to limit complement activation on the bacterial surface. fHbp is a leading vaccine candidate against group B Neisseria meningitidis. Novel mechanisms that meningococci employ to bind fH could undermine the efficacy of fHbp-based vaccines. We observed that fHbp deletion mutants of some meningococcal strains showed residual fH binding suggesting the presence of a second receptor for fH. Ligand overlay immunoblotting using membrane fractions from one such strain showed that fH bound to a approximately 17 kD protein, identified by MALDI-TOF analysis as Neisserial su

SUBMITTER: Lewis LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2912398 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature