title: Identification of Peptides that Mimic N. meningitidis LOS Epitopes Via the Use of Combinatorial Phage-Display Libraries.
abstract: Although capsular polysaccharide-based vaccines are effective at reducing the incidence of meningococcal disease caused by serogroups A, C, Y, and W135 (1-3), immunization against serogroup B disease using similar strategies has proven unsuccessful (4,5). The primary reason for this is that the α2,8-linked N-acetylneuraminic acid homopolymer expressed by serogroup B strains is poorly immunogenic in humans (6). Consequently, considerable effort has been devoted towards the development of alternative strategies for vaccination against serogroup B disease. Many of these newer strategies include the use of lipooligosaccharide (LOS) as a protective antigen (7). One of the approaches that we are currently pursuing involves the use of synthetic oligopeptides to stimulate antibody responses that are cross-reactive with LOS antigens expressed by serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis strains. An integral part of these studies has been the application of combinatorial phage-display technology. Described here is an overview of the methods that we have utilized to identify peptide mimics of LOS epitopes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bateriology, National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Hertfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Feavers
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Charalambous