Ar. Gorringe et al., HUMAN-ANTIBODY RESPONSE TO MENINGOCOCCAL TRANSFERRIN-BINDING PROTEINS- EVIDENCE FOR VACCINE POTENTIAL, Vaccine, 13(13), 1995, pp. 1207-1212
During iron-limited growth Neisseria meningitidis expresses two transf
errin binding proteins, TBP1 and TBP2, with molecular masses of approx
imately 98 and 65-90 kDa depending on strain. Mixtures of TBP1 and TBP
2 (TBP1+2) from three meningococcal strains were purified using affini
ty chromatography and used to determine anti-TBP antibodies in human s
era by ELISA. Sera were obtained from healthy individuals, asymptomati
c carriers of N. meningitidis and cases of meningococcal disease. Heal
thy individuals had little detectable antibody to TBPs but sera from c
arriers and cases exhibited a response demonstrating that TBPs ave exp
ressed in vivo during both carriage and disease, The ELISA absorbances
produced by each of the individual sera to TBPs from the three mening
ococcal strains were compared and very high correlation coefficients w
ere obtained indicating that human anti-TBP antibodies in contrast to
mouse and rabbit antibodies, are cross-reactive between strains. Antib
odies to separately purified TBP1 and TBP2 were also detected in both
cases and carriers. The IgG and IgM response to TBP1+2 was greater in
cases than carriers but the mean IgA response was the same, This demon
stration of an antibody response that is cross-reactive between TBP ty
pes greatly strengthens the case for inclusion of TBPs in a meningococ
cal vaccine to protect against all serogroups and serotypes.