title: Molecular shape and immunogenicity of meningococcal polysaccharide group A conjugate vaccine.
abstract: Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of severe bacterial infections in infants and young children. As a major virulence factor, meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (PS) is poorly immunogenic and generally does not induce immunological memory. Conjugation of PS with a carrier protein can significantly increase the PS-specific immunogenicity and induce immunological memory. It is well known that the molecular shape/size of the conjugate vaccine is important for its immunogenicity. However, little is known about the molecular shape/size of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine. A meningococcal PS-ovalbumin (OVA) conjugate vaccine was prepared using cystamine as linker. Four components (P1-P4) with different molecular size were fractionated from the conjugate. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis revealed that the conjugate vaccine exhibited a rod-like shape similar to virus-like particles. PS-specific immunogenicity of the conjugate vaccine was related to its molecular shape and increased as a function of its molecular size. Thus, the present study provides a three-dimensional shape of the conjugate vaccine and helps to identify optimal design of a potent meningococcal conjugate vaccine.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Mengfang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xueqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yuguang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: thu@ipe.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000737:chemistry*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate; C043226:meningococcal group A polysaccharide; D010047:Ovalbumin
keywords: Conjugate vaccine; Molecular shape; Neisseria meningitidis; Polysaccharide; SAXS