We previously identified HpuB, an 85 kDa Fe-repressible protein required for utilization of Fe from, and binding to, haemoglobin and the haemoglobin-haptoglobin complex. The gene for hpuB was cloned from Neisseria meningitidis strain DNM2 and the predicted amino acid sequence indicates that HpuB is an outer membrane receptor belonging to the TonB family of high-affinity transport proteins. A second open reading frame, predicted to encode a 34.8 kDa lipoprotein, was discovered 5' to hpuB, and was designated hpuA. HpuA was identified in a total-membrane-protein preparation by construction of a mutant lacking HpuA. Acylation of HpuA was confirmed by [3H]-palmitic acid labelling of meningococci. Consensus promoter sequences were not apparent 5' to hpuB. The hpuA insertion mutation exerted a polar effect, abolishing expression of hpuB, suggesting that hpuA and hpuB are co-transcribed. The 3.5 kb polycistronic hpuAB mRNA was identified and shown to be transcriptionally repressed by iron. The transcriptional start site was identified 33 nucleotides 5' to the hpuA translational start site, appropriately positioned around consensus promoter and ferric uptake regulator (Fur)-box sequences. The structure of this operon suggests that HpuA-HpuB is a two-component receptor analogous to the bipartite transferrin receptor TbpB-TbpA.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2958.1997.2501619.x | DOI Listing |
IJID Reg
March 2025
Department of Bacteriology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
Objectives: is a significant pathogen causing invasive meningococcal disease, posing clinical and public health concerns worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the genetic characteristics of clinical isolates at Okayama University Hospital in Japan.
Methods: Between 2018 and 2023, five clinical strains were isolated, of which three were subjected to the antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genetic analysis using MiSeq platform (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA).
Pediatr Infect Dis J
November 2024
Department of Pediatrics, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir, Turkey.
Background: The prevalence of meningococcal carriage and serogroup distribution is crucial for assessing the epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease, forecasting outbreaks and formulating potential immunization strategies. Following the meningococcal carriage studies conducted in Turkey in 2016 and 2018, we planned to re-evaluate meningococcal carriage in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Methods: In the MENINGO-CARR-3 study, we collected nasopharyngeal samples from 1585 participants 0-24 years of age, across 9 different centers in Turkey.
Vaccine
January 2025
Department of Molecular Genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. Electronic address:
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea and Neisseria meningitidis, a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia, are closely related human-restricted pathogens that inhabit distinct primary mucosal niches. While successful vaccines against invasive meningococcal disease have been available for decades, the rapid rise in antibiotic resistance has led to an urgent need to develop an effective gonococcal vaccine. Several surface antigens are shared among these two pathogens, making cross-species protection an exciting prospect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTheranostics
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Adenovirus-based therapies have encountered significant challenges due to host immunity, particularly from pre-existing antibodies. Many trials have struggled to evade antibody response; however, the efficiency of these efforts was limited by the diversity of antibody Fv-region recognizing multiple amino acid sequences. In this study, we developed an antibody-evading adenovirus vector by encoding a plasma-rich protein transferrin-binding domain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
November 2024
Laboratory of Proteolytic Enzyme Chemistry, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
IgA1 protease is one of the virulence factors of , and other pathogens causing bacterial meningitis. The aim of this research is to create recombinant proteins based on fragments of the mature IgA1 protease A-P from serogroup B strain H44/76. These proteins are potential components of an antimeningococcal vaccine for protection against infections caused by pathogenic strains of and other bacteria producing serine-type IgA1 proteases.
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