Expert review of vaccines
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Expert review of vaccines · Oct 2010
ReviewGenetic shifts of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B antigens and the quest for a broadly cross-protective vaccine.
Serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of meningococcal disease in developed countries. There is currently no vaccine offering wide-ranging protection. Development of a serogroup B polysaccharide-based vaccine has been hindered by potential risks of autoantibodies that cross-react with glycosylated host antigens. ⋯ In this article, we describe the high degree of genomic variability in N. meningitidis and several of the mechanisms involved. An overview of the implications of antigenic variation of several surface-exposed proteins on their potential vaccine candidacy is provided. The outlook for the quest for broadly cross-protective meningococcal serogroup B vaccine components in the postgenomic era will be discussed.