Genes involved in carriage - a potential target for Group B meningococcal vaccines.
Research archive
- Imperial College, London, UK
- Researchers:
Dr Christoph Tang, Dr Robert Wall, Professor Robert Read
- Project Number: 0209.0
- Category: Prevention
- Duration: 18 months
- Start Date: 01 January 2002
- Type: Lay summary
- View scientific version
This project aims at new Group B vaccine development, based on discoveries made in another Foundation-funded project. Meningococcal bacteria are often found in the back of the nose and throat of healthy people and, in that project, scientists have found out how the bacteria are able to survive there. They have identified 10 genes which the bacteria need to do this. Bacteria without these genes are unable to colonise the nose and the throat.
The scientists believe that three of the genes they have identified will code for new proteins on the surface of the bacteria - which the human immune system will be able to "see".
In this project the researchers will design and test vaccines that block colonisation based on the three proteins they have discovered.
Read our news release on this project:
Scientist in meningitis vaccine bid
Results from this study have been published in scientific journals as follows:
Sun YH, Exley R, Li Y, Goulding D, Tang CM.
Identification and characterization of genes required for competence in Neisseria meningitidis.
J Bacteriol 2005 May;187(9):3273-6.
http://jb.asm.org/cgi/reprint/187/9/3273.pdf
Exley RM, Shaw J, Mowe E, Sun YH, West NP, Williamson M, Botto M, Smith H, Tang CM.
Available carbon source influences the resistance of Neisseria meningitides against complement.
J Exp Med 2005 May 16;201(10):1637-45.
http://www.jem.org/cgi/reprint/201/10/1637.pdf
Sun YH, Li Y, Exley RM, Winterbotham M, Ison CA, Smith H, Tang CM.
Identification of novel antigens that protect against systemic meningococcal infection.
Vaccine 2005 Jul 14;23(32):4136-41.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TD4-4FY87NM-2&_coverDate=07%2F14%2F2005&_alid=441368045&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5188&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=935048ce4423a181ec08aa114
Li Y, Winterbotham M, Mowe E, Gorringe AR, Tang CM,
Immunization with live Neisseria lactamica protects mice against meningococcal challenge and can elicit serum bactericidal antibodies.
Infect Immun 2006 Nov;74(11):6348-55. Epub 2006 Sep 11.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed
Schneider MC, Exley RM, Chan H, Feavers IM, Kang YH, Sim RB, Tang CM.
Functional significance of factor H binding to Neisseria meningitidis.
J Immunol 2006 Jun 15;176(12):7566-75.
http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/abstract/176/12/7566
Carpenter EP, Corbett A, Thomson H, Adacha J, Jenson K, Bergeron J, Kasampalidis I, Exley R, Winterbotham M, Tang CM, Baldwin GS, Freemont P. AP endonuclease paralogues with distinct activities in DNA repair and bacterial pathogenesis
EMBO J 2007 Feb 22; [Epub ahead of print].
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed