NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genome-derived neisserial antigen 2132 (GNA2132) - a putative surface lipoprotein identified during the N. meningitidis group B strain genome-sequencing effort - is a promising candidate vaccine against disease in rats caused by Neisseria meningitidis including group B strains, according to a new study.
Currently, there is no effective vaccine against disease caused by capsular group B strains of N. meningitidis, which cause the majority of cases of meningococcal disease in Europe and roughly one-third of the cases in the U.S.
In a report in the December 1st issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Jo Anne Welsch from Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California and colleagues assessed the vaccine’s potential using antisera prepared from mice immunized with recombinant GNA2132.
Anti-rGNA2132 antibody bound to the surface of live bacteria from all 7 capsular group B or C N. meningitidis strains tested, leading to the deposition of human C3b complement factors on the bacterial surface of all 7 strains.
In addition, all 7 strains were killed in the presence of anti-rGNA2132 and rabbit complement, but “only 2 strains were susceptible to anti-GNA2132 bactericidal activity in the presence of human complement,” the team reports.
Despite this, however, “anti-GNA2132 antiserum passively protected infant rats against meningococcal bacterium after challenge with all 5 resistant strains,” they write.
“GNA2132 is thus a promising vaccine candidate for prevention of disease caused by N. meningitidis,” the researchers conclude.
Source: J Infect Dis 2003;188:1730-1740. [ Google search on this article ]
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