title: Identification of variable region differences in Neisseria meningitidis class 3 protein sequences among five group B serotypes.
abstract: Strains of Neisseria meningitidis express one of two porin proteins. These porins have been identified as the class 2 and class 3 proteins, and express serotype-specific epitopes. The gene for the class 3 protein was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction from the DNA of a serotype 4 strain as a 1025 bp fragment. The nucleotide sequence of this gene was determined and compared with two recently published sequences. On the basis of this comparison we have identified two major variable regions in the translated protein sequence, VR1 and VR2, that may be associated with serotype specificity. Three other variable regions were also identified. The sequences in the VR1 and VR2 regions from five additional group B N. meningitidis strains of serotypes 1, 4, 8, 12, and 15, all expressing class 3 proteins, were determined. The VR1 and VR2 regions were variable and were flanked by highly conserved regions among eight different class 3 sequences. These two variable regions of 15 and 9 amino acids are predicted to be in surface-exposed loops.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Division of Bacterial Products, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Zapata
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Vann
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Frasch
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D015870:Gene Expression; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D018272:Porins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012703:Serotyping; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D018272:Porins