Bactericidal antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in patients with bacterial meningitis: effect of immunization with an outer membrane protein vaccine
Lg. Milagres et al., Bactericidal antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in patients with bacterial meningitis: effect of immunization with an outer membrane protein vaccine, FEMS IM MED, 28(4), 2000, pp. 319-327
We evaluated the bactericidal antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis s
erogroup B in convalescent patients (n = 65) from bacterial meningitis. Pat
ients infected with B meningococci were stratified according to their vacci
nation status (Cuban BC vaccine) into group 1 (immunized) (n = 12) and grou
p 2 (non-immunized) (n = 15). The results suggested that antibody titers gr
eater than or equal to 2 (log(2)) indicate a specific immune response to N.
meningitidis. In group 1, 64%;, of patients had a significant antibody tit
er (greater than or equal to 2) in their acute sera against a B:4:P1.15 str
ain, compared to only 21% of group 2 patients. All patients from group 1 wi
thout bactericidal antibodies in their acute sera had a significant increas
e (at least 2-fold increase in 1og(2) titers) in antibody titers in their c
onvalescent sera, in contrast, to only 27% of patients from group 2 (P = 0.
06). Using mutant strains lacking OMP1 or OMP5, it was shown that OMP1 was
an important antigen recognized by immunized patients but not by non-immuni
zed patients. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the
Federation of European Microbiological Societies.