title: An analysis of the sequence variability of meningococcal fHbp, NadA and NHBA over a 50-year period in the Netherlands.
abstract: Studies of meningococcal evolution and genetic population structure, including the long-term stability of non-random associations between variants of surface proteins, are essential for vaccine development. We analyzed the sequence variability of factor H-binding protein (fHbp), Neisserial Heparin-Binding Antigen (NHBA) and Neisseria adhesin A (NadA), three major antigens in the multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine 4CMenB. A panel of invasive isolates collected in the Netherlands over a period of 50 years was used. To our knowledge, this strain collection covers the longest time period of any collection available worldwide. Long-term persistence of several antigen sub/variants and of non-overlapping antigen sub/variant combinations was observed. Our data suggest that certain antigen sub/variants including those used in 4CMenB are conserved over time and promoted by selection.
authors.affiliation: Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bambini
authors.forename: Jurgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piet
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muzzi
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Keijzers
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Comandi
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Tora
authors.forename: Mariagrazia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pizza
authors.forename: Rino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rappuoli
authors.forename: Diederik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van de Beek
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Ende
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comanducci
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D038541:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D009426:Netherlands; D010802:Phylogeny; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C501982:NadA protein, Neisseria meningitidis; C484699:factor H-binding protein, Neisseria meningitidis