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HUMAN IMMUNE RESPONSE TO EPITOPES ON THE MENINGOCOCCAL OUTER MEMBRANE CLASS 5 PROTEIN FOLLOWING NATURAL INFECTION
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Abstract
Two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced against a serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis strain. These mAbs recognized two epitopes in the class 5 outer membrane proteins (OMP), designated P5.7 and PS.Bm, and were able to kill the homologous strain through complement activation. Both epitopes were surface exposed and 68% of group B meningococcal clinical isolates had one or both epitopes present in their class 5 OMP. Antibodies to one or both epitopes were demonstrated in 17 patients with meningococcal meningitis using an ELISA inhibition assay, Of the 17 paired sera, 41% and 29% of the acute-phase sera had antibodies to the P5.7 and PS.Bm epitopes, respectively. Immunoglobulin G to PS.Bm were found in all 17 convalescent-phase sera while specific antibodies against P5.7 were only found in 6 of these sera. These results demonstrate the potential importance of the PS.Bm and P5.7 epitopes on the class 5 OMP as candidates for vaccine composition.
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