Design and evaluation of meningococcal vaccines through structure-based modification of host and pathogen molecules

• Published in: PLoS pathogens Vol. 8; no. 10; p. e1002981
• Main Authors: Johnson, Steven, Tan, Lionel, van der Veen, Stijn, Caesar, Joseph, Goicoechea De Jorge, Elena, Harding, Rachel J, Bai, Xilian, Exley, Rachel M, Ward, Philip N, Ruivo, Nicola, Trivedi, Kaushali, Cumber, Elspeth, Jones, Rhian, Newham, Luke, Staunton, David, Ufret-Vincenty, Rafael, Borrow, Ray, Pickering, Matthew C, Lea, Susan M, Tang, Christoph M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.10.2012; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino Acid Substitution; Amino acids; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - immunology; Antigens, Bacterial - immunology; Bacterial Proteins - immunology; Binding Sites; Biology; Complement Factor H - immunology; Complement Factor H - metabolism; Female; Health aspects; Host-parasite relationships; Humans; Medicine; Meningitis; Meningitis, Meningococcal - immunology; Meningitis, Meningococcal - prevention & control; Meningococcal Vaccines - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Mortality; Neisseria meningitidis; Neisseria meningitidis - immunology; Physiological aspects; Protein Binding - immunology; Protein Isoforms - genetics; Protein Structure, Secondary; Proteins; Vaccines; Values; Virulence (Microbiology); United Kingdom

Neisseria meningitis remains a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis, and vaccines are required to prevent infections by this important human pathogen. Factor H binding protein (fHbp) is a key antigen that elicits protective immunity against the meningococcus and recruits the host complement regula...