Neisseria genomics: current status and future perspectives

Harrison, Odile B.; Schoen, Christoph; Retchless, Adam C.; Wang, Xin; Jolley, Keith A.; Bray, James E.; Maiden, Martin C. J.

doi:10.1093/femspd/ftx060

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Certain bacteria like Neisseria gonorrhea, Neisseria meningitides, Mycoplasma and species of the genus Streptococcus show antigenic diversity. 83 In eukaryotic pathogens, antigenic variation is shown by Trypanosoma brucei and Plasmodium falciparum. 81,84 Another vital cause of antigenic variation in bacteria is horizontal gene transfer (more important than point mutation) through plasmid acquisition and transduction via bacteriophages.…”

Section: Pathogens With Variable Antigensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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<p>Immunoinformatics and Vaccine Development: An Overview</p>

Oli

Obialor

Ifeanyichukwu

et al. 2020

ITT

163

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The use of vaccines have resulted in a remarkable improvement in global health. It has saved several lives, reduced treatment costs and raised the quality of animal and human lives. Current traditional vaccines came empirically with either vague or completely no knowledge of how they modulate our immune system. Even at the face of potential vaccine design advance, immune-related concerns (as seen with specific vulnerable populations, cases of emerging/reemerging infectious disease, pathogens with complex lifecycle and antigenic variability, need for personalized vaccinations, and concerns for vaccines' immunological safety -specifically vaccine likelihood to trigger non-antigen-specific responses that may cause autoimmunity and vaccine allergy) are being raised. And these concerns have driven immunologists toward research for a better approach to vaccine design that will consider these challenges. Currently, immunoinformatics has paved the way for a better understanding of some infectious disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, immune system response and computational vaccinology. The importance of this immunoinformatics in the study of infectious diseases is diverse in terms of computational approaches used, but is united by common qualities related to host-pathogen relationship. Bioinformatics methods are also used to assign functions to uncharacterized genes which can be targeted as a candidate in vaccine design and can be a better approach toward the inclusion of women that are pregnant into vaccine trials and programs. The essence of this review is to give insight into the need to focus on novel computational, experimental and computation-driven experimental approaches for studying of host-pathogen interactions and thus making a case for its use in vaccine development.

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Section: Pathogens With Variable Antigensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…86 • Neisseria is able to take up and incorporate environmental DNA into its genomes. 83 These are why an effective vaccine against Neisseria infections is not yet developed. Neisseria may be considered as an extreme example.…”

Section: Neisseriamentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Immunoinformatics and Vaccine Development: An Overview</p>

Oli

Obialor

Ifeanyichukwu

et al. 2020

ITT

163

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“…Many virulence factors in the pathogenic Neisseria have been identified to date and this has been the focus of a great deal of research due to their importance in public health [6,[84][85][86]. Within the regions of similarity identified in comparative genome analysis, the presence of a set of 117 virulence genes was assessed in each of the 4 isolates by comparison against the pathogen genome sequences in Mauve.…”

Section: Virulence Genes Present In the Commensal Isolatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virulence genes and previously unexplored gene clusters in four commensal Neisseria spp. isolated from the human throat expand the neisserial gene repertoire

et al. 2020

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Commensal non-pathogenic Neisseria spp. live within the human host alongside the pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae and due to natural competence, horizontal gene transfer within the genus is possible and has been observed. Four distinct Neisseria spp. isolates taken from the throats of two human volunteers have been assessed here using a combination of microbiological and bioinformatics techniques. Three of the isolates have been identified as Neisseria subflava biovar perflava and one as Neisseria cinerea . Specific gene clusters have been identified within these commensal isolate genome sequences that are believed to encode a Type VI Secretion System, a newly identified CRISPR system, a Type IV Secretion System unlike that in other Neisseria spp., a hemin transporter, and a haem acquisition and utilization system. This investigation is the first to investigate these systems in either the non-pathogenic or pathogenic Neisseria spp. In addition, the N. subflava biovar perflava possess previously unreported capsule loci and sequences have been identified in all four isolates that are similar to genes seen within the pathogens that are associated with virulence. These data from the four commensal isolates provide further evidence for a Neisseria spp. gene pool and highlight the presence of systems within the commensals with functions still to be explored.

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“…20 More recently, meningococcal whole genome sequencing has enabled more precise classification of major hypervirulent clonal complexes into distinct sub-lineages. [21][22][23][24][25] Meningococcal pharyngeal carriage is a pre-requisite to infection and asymptomatic carriers are the primary driving force for meningococcal transmission. 14,26 Carriage surveys complement regular invasive disease surveillance by providing data on the extent of spread of known hypervirulent lineages and are an important indicator of herd protection from conjugate vaccines.…”

Section: Neisseria Meningitidismentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccine prevention of meningococcal disease in Africa: Major advances, remaining challenges

Mustapha

Harrison

2018

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

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Africa historically has had the highest incidence of meningococcal disease with high endemic rates and periodic epidemics. The meningitis belt, a region of sub-Saharan Africa extending from Senegal to Ethiopia, has experienced large, devastating epidemics. However, dramatic shifts in the epidemiology of meningococcal disease have occurred recently. For instance, meningococcal capsular group A (NmA) epidemics in the meningitis belt have essentially been eliminated by use of conjugate vaccine. However, NmW epidemics have emerged and spread across the continent since 2000; NmX epidemics have occurred sporadically, and NmC recently emerged in Nigeria and Niger. Outside the meningitis belt, NmB predominates in North Africa, while NmW followed by NmB predominate in South Africa. Improved surveillance is necessary to address the challenges of this changing epidemiologic picture. A low-cost, multivalent conjugate vaccine covering NmA and the emergent and prevalent meningococcal capsular groups C, W, and X in the meningitis belt is a pressing need.

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Neisseria genomics: current status and future perspectives

Cited by 22 publications

References 110 publications

<p>Immunoinformatics and Vaccine Development: An Overview</p>

<p>Immunoinformatics and Vaccine Development: An Overview</p>

Virulence genes and previously unexplored gene clusters in four commensal Neisseria spp. isolated from the human throat expand the neisserial gene repertoire

Vaccine prevention of meningococcal disease in Africa: Major advances, remaining challenges

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