Neisseria meningitidis GNA2132, a heparin-binding protein that induces protective immunity in humans
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: GNA2132 is a Neisseria meningitidis antigen of unknown function, discovered by reverse vaccinology, which has been shown to induce bactericidal antibodies in animal models. Here we show that this antigen induces protective immunity in humans and it is recognized by sera of patients after meningococcal disease. The protein binds heparin in vitro through an Arg-rich region and this property correlates with increased survival of the unencapsulated bacterium in human serum. Furthermore, two proteases, the meningococcal NalP and human lactoferrin, cleave the protein upstream and downstream from the Arg-rich region, respectively. We conclude that GNA2132 is an important protective antigen of N. meningitidis and we propose to rename it, Neisserial Heparin Binding Antigen (NHBA).
Authors: Davide Serruto, Tiziana Spadafina, Laura Ciucchi, Lisa A. Lewis, Sanjay Ram, Marta Tontini, Laura Santini, Alessia Biolchi, Kate L. Seib, Marzia M. Giuliani, John J. Donnelly, Francesco Berti, Silvana Savino, Maria Scarselli, Paolo Costantino, J. Simon Kroll, Clíona O’Dwyer, Jiazhou Qiu, Andrew G. Plaut, Richard Moxon, Rino Rappuoli, Mariagrazia Pizza, Beatrice Aricò
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1965487319