The outer membrane protein CD of Moraxella catarrhalis is considered to be a potential vaccine antigen against Moraxella infection. We purified the native CD from isolate O35E, administered it to mice, and detected considerable titers of anti-CD antibodies. Anti-CD sera were cross-reactive towards six different M. catarrhalis isolates and promoted bacterial clearance of O35E in a pulmonary challenge model. To circumvent the difficulty of generating large quantities of CD from M. catarrhalis for vaccine use, the CD gene from O35E was cloned into Escherichia coli, and the recombinant CD, expressed without a signal sequence or fusion tags, represented ϳ70% of the total E. coli proteins. The recombinant CD formed inclusion bodies that were solubilized with 6 M urea and then purified by ion-exchange chromatography, a procedure that produced soluble CD of high purity and yield. Mice immunized with the purified recombinant CD had significant titers of anti-CD antibodies that were cross-reactive towards 24 different M. catarrhalis isolates. Upon challenge, these mice showed enhanced bacterial clearance of both O35E and a heterologous M. catarrhalis isolate, TTA24. In an in vitro assay, antisera to either the native or the recombinant CD inhibited the binding activity of CD to human tracheobronchial mucin in a serum concentration-dependent manner, and the extent of inhibition appeared to correlate with the corresponding anti-CD antibody titer and whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay titer. Our results demonstrate that the recombinant CD is a promising vaccine candidate for preventing Moraxella infection.Moraxella catarrhalis is an important human mucosal pathogen of the respiratory tract (20,29,44). It is the third most common cause of bacterial otitis media in infants and young children (3, 40), following Streptococcus pneumoniae and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae. Among adults, M. catarrhalis is often associated with bronchitis, laryngitis, and other respiratory diseases (1, 5). Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are particularly vulnerable to exacerbations caused by M. catarrhalis (1,6,35). Interest in the development of a Moraxella vaccine is further stimulated by the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance among M. catarrhalis strains (2,8,19).The CD outer membrane protein of M. catarrhalis has been identified as a potential vaccine against Moraxella infection (9, 26) and is a safe and effective carrier for M. catarrhalis detoxified lipooligosaccharide (LOS)-based conjugates (18). Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies specific to CD are present in infants with otitis media (25) and in children with otitis media with effusion (11). Analysis of salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) in children with acute respiratory tract infection indicates that CD may be one of the outer membrane antigens eliciting a mucosal immune response (27). IgA antibodies against CD as well as several other surface components of M. catarrhalis are also detected in the saliva of healthy adults (28). Furthe...