A universal vaccine for serogroup B meningococcus

MM Giuliani, J Adu-Bobie… - Proceedings of the …, 2006 - National Acad Sciences
MM Giuliani, J Adu-Bobie, M Comanducci, B Aricò, S Savino, L Santini, B Brunelli…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006National Acad Sciences
Meningitis and sepsis caused by serogroup B meningococcus are two severe diseases that
still cause significant mortality. To date there is no universal vaccine that prevents these
diseases. In this work, five antigens discovered by reverse vaccinology were expressed in a
form suitable for large-scale manufacturing and formulated with adjuvants suitable for
human use. The vaccine adjuvanted by aluminum hydroxide induced bactericidal antibodies
in mice against 78% of a panel of 85 meningococcal strains representative of the global …
Meningitis and sepsis caused by serogroup B meningococcus are two severe diseases that still cause significant mortality. To date there is no universal vaccine that prevents these diseases. In this work, five antigens discovered by reverse vaccinology were expressed in a form suitable for large-scale manufacturing and formulated with adjuvants suitable for human use. The vaccine adjuvanted by aluminum hydroxide induced bactericidal antibodies in mice against 78% of a panel of 85 meningococcal strains representative of the global population diversity. The strain coverage could be increased to 90% and above by the addition of CpG oligonucleotides or by using MF59 as adjuvant. The vaccine has the potential to conquer one of the most devastating diseases of childhood.
National Acad Sciences