Expression of AniA, the major anaerobically induced outer membrane proteinof Neisseria gonorrhoeae, provides protection against killing by normal human sera

Anaerobically grown Neisseria gonorrhoeae has previously been shown to have elevated serum resistance in the absence of exogenous CMP-N-acetylneuramin ic acid or detectable sialylation, We hypothesized that the anaerobically i nduced gonococcal outer membrane protein AniA might have a role in this phe nomenon, as it is the only known gonococcal protein that is absent under ae robic conditions. An N. gonorrhocae F62 derivative, RUG7035, in which aniA is under control of the tac promoter, was used to examine the effect of Ani A expression on serum resistance. In this study, we found that expression o f AniA enhanced the serum resistance of N. gonorrhoeae and may account for these earlier observations.