Challenges and progress in the development of a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine

Abstract

Serogroup B meningococci cause the majority of the meningococcal disease burden in developed countries. Production of an effective and safe vaccine for serogroup B organisms has been hampered by the poor immunogenicity of the capsular polysaccharide that defines this group of bacteria. Previous efforts have focused on outer membrane vesicle vaccines, which have been implemented successfully during clonal outbreaks. However, the search for a universal vaccine against endemic polyclonal serogroup B meningococcal disease continues. In this review, we have highlighted recent development of outer membrane vesicle vaccines and progress in the evaluation of recombinant outer membrane protein vaccines.

Structure of the C-terminal Domain of Neisseria Heparin Binding Antigen (NHBA), One of the Main Antigens of a Novel Vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis

“…Although effective vaccines are now available against meningitis serogroups A, C, W135, and Y, MenB is still an unsolved medical problem (4). MenB vaccines have been recently proposed for clinical development (46, 47). A multicomponent 4CMenB vaccine shown to be safe and immunogenic in adults, adolescents, and infants contains three main vaccine antigens, NadA, fHBP, and NHBA in combination with outer membrane vesicles (21).…”

Clonal Distribution of Disease-Associated and Healthy Carrier Isolates ofNeisseria meningitidisbetween 1983 and 2005 in Cuba

“…Our results are the first obtained by use of the MLST approach to evaluate the impact of an OMV-based vaccine on the genetic structure of a meningococcal population. This type of vaccine has recently been used to combat a clonal epidemic in New Zealand (39), and OMV-based vaccines are still in development by either the use of genetically modified meningococci or the addition of recombinant antigens (27). The epidemic of disease in New Zealand was attributable to the clonal expansion of strain type B:4:P1.7-2,4, which belongs to the ST-41/44 clonal complex (17).…”

Complement-Mediated Bactericidal Activity of Anti-Factor H Binding Protein Monoclonal Antibodies against the Meningococcus Relies upon Blocking Factor H Binding

“…A variety of protein antigens are being evaluated as vaccine candidates (19,28,40). One of the most promising antigens is a lipoprotein called factor H (fH) binding protein (fHbp) (21,30,47), which previously was referred to as genome-derived neisserial antigen 1870 (GNA1870) (33) or LP2086 (15,32,49).…”