Open AccessCharacterization of fHbp , nhba ( gna2132 ), nadA , porA , Sequence Type (ST), and Genomic Presence of IS 1301 in Group B Meningococcal ST269 Clonal Complex Isolates from England and Wales
Author(s) -
Jay Lucidarme,
Maurizio Comanducci,
Jamie Findlow,
Stephen J. Gray,
Edward B. Kaczmarski,
Malcolm Guiver,
Elisabeth Kugelberg,
P. J. Vallely,
Philipp Oster,
Mariagrazia Pizza,
Stefania Bambini,
Alessandro Muzzi,
Christoph M. Tang,
Raymond Borrow
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of clinical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.349
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1070-633X
pISSN - 0095-1137
DOI - 10.1128/jcm.00936-09
Subject(s) - neisseria meningitidis , biology , multilocus sequence typing , meningococcal vaccine , typing , neisseriaceae , virology , microbiology and biotechnology , genotype , genetics , gene , bacteria
Highly effective glycoconjugate vaccines exist against four of the five major pathogenic groups of meningococci: A, C, W-135, and Y. An equivalent vaccine against group B meningococci (menB) has remained elusive due to the poorly immunogenic capsular polysaccharide. A promising alternative, the investigational recombinant menB (rMenB)- outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine, contains fHBP, NHBA (previously GNA2132), NadA, and outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from the New Zealand MeNZB vaccine. MenB currently accounts for 90% of meningococcal disease in England and Wales, where the multilocus sequence type (ST) 269 (ST269) clonal complex (cc269) has recently expanded to account for a third of menB cases. To assess the potential cc269 coverage of the rMenB-OMV vaccine, English and Welsh cc269 isolates from the past decade were genetically characterized with respect to fHBP, NHBA, and NadA. All of the isolates harboredfHbp andnhba alleles, while 98% of the cc269 isolates were devoid ofnadA . Subvariant profiling offHbp ,nhba , andporA against STs revealed the presence of two broadly distinct and well-defined clusters of isolates, centered around ST269 and ST275, respectively. An additional molecular marker, insertion sequence IS1301 , was found to be present in 100% and <2% of isolates of the respective clusters. On the basis of the genetic data, the potential rMenB-OMV coverage of cc269 in England and Wales is high (up to 100%) within both clusters. Expression studies and serum bactericidal antibody assays will serve to enhance predictions of coverage and will augment ongoing studies regarding the significance of IS1301 within the ST269 cluster.