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When pilus+ Gc were introduced into a male subject's urethra, they gave rise to pilus+ variants whose pilin mRNAs differed from that of input Gc. The differences stemmed from the Gc genome's single complete pilin gene having undergone gene conversion by different partial pilin genes' sequences and by different length stretches of a single partial pilin gene. In some instances, the variant's pilin mRNA appeared to reflect two independent gene-conversion events that used sequences from two different partial pilin genes. The resulting variants' pilins exhibited antigenic differences compared with the pilin polypeptide of input Gc; these differences were discernible by immunoblotting with mAbs. Amino acid and antigenic changes occurred in a segment of the variants' pilin polypeptides that previously was thought to be conserved or constant in sequence.

SummaryLittle is known about the pathogenesis of gonococcal infection within the lower female genital tract. We recently described the distribution of complement receptor 3 (CR3) on epithelia of the female genital tract. Our studies further indicate that CR3-mediated endocytosis serves as a primary mechanism by which N. gonorrhoeae elicits membrane ruffling and cellular invasion of primary, human, cervical epithelial cells. We have extended these studies to describe the nature of the gonococcus-CR3 interaction. Western Blot analysis demonstrated production of alternative pathway complement components by ecto-and endocervical cells which allows C3b deposition on gonococci and its rapid conversion to iC3b. Anti-iC3b and -factor I antibodies significantly inhibited adherence and invasion of primary cervical cells, suggesting that iC3b covalently bound to the gonococcus serves as a primary ligand for CR3 adherence. However, gonococcal porin and pili also bound to the Idomain of CR3 in a non-opsonic manner. Binding of porin and pili to CR3 were required for adherence to and invasion of cervical epithelia. Collectively, these data suggest that gonococcal adherence to CR3 occurs in a co-operative manner, which requires gonococcal iC3b-opsonization, porin and pilus. In conjunction, these molecules facilitate targeting to and successful infection of the cervical epithelium.

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Previous studies have shown that human serum containing anti-group A streptococcus carbohydrate (GAS CHO) antibodies were opsonic for different M protein-carrying serotypes. To investigate the role that anti-GAS CHO antibodies play in passive and active protection, mice were immunized subcutaneously or intranasally with GAS CHO conjugated to tetanus toxoid, and mortality and oral colonization were monitored after challenge with live GAS. Compared with control mice, immunized mice were significantly protected against systemic or nasal challenge with GAS. Furthermore, studies of serum samples and throat cultures from Mexican children revealed an inverse relationship between high serum titers of anti-GAS CHO antibodies and the presence of GAS in the throat. Anti-GAS CHO antibodies were also tested for cross-reactivity with human tissues and cytoskeletal proteins. No cross-reactivity was observed in either assay. The present study demonstrates that GAS CHO is both immunogenic and protective against GAS infections.Previous work from our laboratory has shown that serum samples from healthy children contain antibodies to group A streptococcus carbohydrate (GAS CHO) and that the titers of these antibodies increase with increasing age. These antibodies were also shown to be opsonic for several M protein-carrying (M+) serotypes of GAS in an in vitro phagocytic assay. In addition, the specificity of these antibodies for GAS CHO was clearly demonstrated, because removal of them by absorption with N-acetyl glucosamine coupled to Sepharose beads

The outer membrane porin molecule of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is known as protein I (PI). Among different strains of gonococci there is variability of PI, and two main classes, PIA and PIB, have been recognized. A Xgtll bank of gonococcal DNA was screened using monoclonal antibodies directed to a PIB-type porin molecule of N. gonorrhoeae, and three immunoreactive clones were isolated. DNA sequence analysis indicated that each contained only portions of the PI structural gene, but that together they contained the complete gene, and its structure was determined. The DNA sequence predicts a protein of 348 amino acids with a typical 19 amino acid signal peptide. The PT protein resembles Escherichia coli porins in size, lack of long hydrophobic sequences, and absence of cysteine residues. Sequence homologies between PI and the E. coli porins were found, particularly in the 100 N-terminal and the 110 C-terminal amino acids. In addition to the coding sequence of PI, the complementary strand contains a large open reading frame. At the 3' end of the PI gene, immediately following an inverted repeat (probably the transcription terminator), the clone contains an unusual sequence consisting of 31 perfect repeats of the heptamer CTGTTTT. Hybridization analysis suggests that there is a single structural gene for PI and that it is homologous to the gene found in a PIA-bearing strain of gonococcus.The outer membrane of Neisseria gonorrhoeae bears several antigens that have been studied in considerable detail (1). Three proteins are present in large amounts and these have been named proteins I, II, and III (PI, PII, and PIll). Expression of P11 proteins (2) by a gonococcal strain is variable, being subject to phase variation with a frequency of about 1O-3 per cell division (3). The structural gene of PITT has been cloned and according to its sequence is a homolog of the enterobacterial OmpA proteins (4). PI is invariably expressed and usually is quantitatively the predominant protein. Methods for the purification of PI have been developed (5, 6) and it has been demonstrated that the pure protein is a porin that is voltage-dependent and somewhat anion-selective (7,8). PI resembles the porins OmpC, OmpF, and PhoE ofEscherichia coli in molecular weight, trimeric configuration, and estimated pore size (9) and readily translocates from living gonococci to foreign membranes, artificial (10) or natural (11). Purified PI also has profound effects on the physiology of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes, markedly interfering with degranulation but having no significant effect on superoxide generation (12).The surface topology of the gonococcal outer membrane has been studied using cleavable crosslinking reagents. PI appears to be trimeric in the native state, and PIII appears to be closely associated with PI (13). While the expression of a particular PI is a stable characteristic of a gonococcal strain, there is heterogeneity of PI proteins between strains. Biochemical and immunological criteria separate PI into two main classes, ref...

Confocal and immunoelectron microscopic analysis of urethral exudates from 12 men with gonococcal urethritis showed that Neisseria gonorrhoeae can invade urethral epithelial cells. Studies with acridine orange stain demonstrated that the majority of organisms within urethral epithelial cells were viable at the time of fixation. Three-dimensional modeling of an infected epithelial cell using image analysis of 21 digitized confocal sections stained with YOYO-1 and DiIC 18(3) revealed that gonococcal invasion of these cells occurred in a polar fashion, most likely at the epithelial luminal surface. Serial immunoelectron micrographs showed evidence of membrane fusion with pedestal formation between the gonococcus and the epithelial cell, gonococci within vacuoles, and occasional gonococci free in the cytoplasm. Immunoelectron microscopy studies showed ruptured vacuoles at the cell surface releasing organisms. These studies demonstrate that urethral epithelial cells are invaded by gonococci during the course of infection in males.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae that resist complement-dependent killing by normal human serum (NHS) are sometimes killed by immune convalescent serum from patients recovering from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI). In these studies, killing by immune serum was prevented or blocked by IgG isolated from NHS. Purified human IgG antibodies directed against gonococcal protein III, an antigenically conserved outer membrane protein, contained most of the blocking activity in IgG. Antibodies specific for gonococcal porin (protein I), the major outer membrane protein, displayed no blocking function. In separate experiments, immune convalescent DGI serum which did not exhibit bactericidal activity was restored to killing by selective depletion of protein III antibodies by immunoabsorption. These studies indicate that protein III antibodies in normal and immune human serum play a role in serum resistance of N. gonorrhoeae.