Summary
Systemic infection by encapsulated organisms, such as Neisseria meningitidis, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in individuals less than 2 years of age. Antibodies directed at the capsular polysaccharide are shown to be protective against disease by inducing complement‐dependent bactericidal activity. The current polysaccharide vaccine has been shown to be poorly immunogenic in high‐risk groups and this is probably related to its T‐independent properties. An alternative approach to eliciting a T‐dependent serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody response to encapsulated pathogens is DNA vaccination. We assessed the immunogenicity of a multiepitope DNA vaccine encoding a T‐cell helper epitope and a peptide mimic of N. meningitidis serogroup C. The DNA construct induced a significant anti‐polysaccharide antibody response that was bactericidal. Mice immunized with the DNA construct were subsequently protected against challenge with a lethal dose of N. meningitidis serogroup C.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.