title: Class-specific human bactericidal antibodies to capsular and noncapsular surface antigens of Neisseria meningitidis.
abstract: Bactericidal and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to determine the immunoglobulin classes responsible for group- and type-specific immunity to Neisseria meningitidis among healthy, unvaccinated individuals and persons who received group-B N meningitidis polysaccharide-serotype-2 protein vaccine. Bactericidal antibodies to the group B polysaccharide were primarily IgM; only a few individuals had both IgM and IgG antibodies. IgG bactericidal antibodies were detected only in those individuals with high IgM-antibody levels to group B meningococci. Increased levels of bactericidal antibodies to the group-B polysaccharide were infrequently found in vaccinees, possibly because of high prevaccination bactericidal-antibody levels. Bactericidal antibodies to the group-C polysaccharide were IgM, IgG, or both. Vaccine-induced antibodies to lipopolysaccharide were not bactericidal for a group-C serotype-2 strain with the lipopolysaccharide immunotype of the vaccine strain.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000276:immunology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D001770:Blood Bactericidal Activity; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D012703:Serotyping; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial