quil-a and Meningitis--Meningococcal

In vitro folded and the denatured form of PorA P1.6 from Neisseria meningitidis strain M990 were used for immunization studies in mice. Previously, the antigen was isolated from cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, folded and purified. Its immunogenicity without adjuvant appeared to be low. The addition of the adjuvant QuilA, but not of galE lipooligosaccharide, considerably enhanced the immunogenicity. Moreover, when immunized with folded PorA P1.6 plus QuilA, a clear switch towards the IgG2a subclass of antibodies and concomitantly, the appearance of serum bactericidal activity, which is believed to be important for protective immunity, was observed. Hence, a tool for preparing vaccines against serogroup B meningococci devoid of endotoxin is available.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Bacterial Vaccines; Blood Bactericidal Activity; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Immunization; Meningitis, Meningococcal; Meningococcal Vaccines; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Molecular Sequence Data; Neisseria meningitidis; Oligopeptides; Porins; Protein Folding; Quillaja Saponins; Saponins