This document summarizes a study investigating whether antibodies produced in response to the Bexsero meningococcal vaccine could also recognize and fight Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea. The study found that mouse sera raised against the meningococcal NHBA protein cross-reacted with N. gonorrhoeae, indicating potential for the meningococcal vaccine to provide partial protection against gonorrhea through antibody cross-reactivity between the two Neisseria species. The results advance efforts to develop a polyvalent vaccine that protects against both meningococcal disease and gonorrhea.

1. Daniela Sotomayor Quirama
Medicine Student
Third semester 2019-1
Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

2. INTRODUCTION
The neisseriae
are gram-negative cocci that
usually occur in pairs.
Characteristics Gonococci Meningococci
Polysaccharide
capsules
Does not
have
Have
Have plasmids Yes Rarely
The usual clinical
presentations of
the diseases
Cause genital
infections
Typically are
found in the
upper
respiratory
tract and
cause
meningitis
Gonococci and
meningococci are
closely related, with
70% DNA homology

3. INTRODUCTION
• Its various mechanisms of
immune evasion
• The lack of an animal
model that mimics natural
disease
The Neisseria meningitidis
serogroup B outer membrane
vesicle (OMV) vaccine MeNZB
(NadA)
(fHbp)
(NHBA)

4. OBJECTIVE
They investigated “The
serogroup B
meningococcal vaccine
Bexsero elicits antibodies
to Neisseria gonorrhoeae”

5. MATERIALES Y
MÉTODOS
Fundamento
Unión artificial de dos
fragmentos de ADN,
permitiendo aislar un gen
de un organismo, para su
posterior manipulación e
inserción en otro diferente.
Para qué?
Se indujo la expresión de
rNHBA y se purificó la
proteína usando resina de
afinidad TALON

6. MATERIALES Y
MÉTODOS
Para qué?
Se busca aumentar la
cantidad de anticuerpos
para responder al
antígeno empleado.

7. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS
Fundamento Para qué?
Separación de
proteínas por
electroforesis. Se
transfieren a un filtro
con anticuerpos que
reaccionan con la
proteína de interés.
Detectar proteínas
específicas en una
muestra determinada.
se realizó con lisados
celulares completos,
OMV o rNHBA

8. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS
Es un inmunoensayo,
estos se basan en la
evaluación de la reacción
entre un antígeno y un
anticuerpo
Fundamento Para qué?
Se trabajó con el antígeno de la
Neisseria y se estaba fabricando
una vacuna (anticuerpos) para
poder atacar la Neisseria.

9. Resultados
Figura 1

10. ResultadosFigura 1B:

11. Resultados

12. Resultados
Figura 3B: Figura 4 A-B:

13. DISCUSSION
Author Contribution Or
Pizza M.
and mouse sera raised to the meningococcal
NHBA or NHBA-GNA1030 fusion protein can
cross-react with N. gonorrhoeae F62, and
induce complement deposition as detected by
flow cytometry.
Cuello M,
Cabrera O,
Acevedo R, et
al.
Other studies have shown various levels of
cross-reactivity or functional activity to N.
gonorrhoeae of antibodies raised to
meningococcal vaccines. For example, mouse
sera raised to an intranasal serogroup B
Proteoliposome vaccine recognizes N.
gonorrhoeae by ELISA.
Petousis-Harris
H, Paynter J,
Morgan J, et
al.
The landmark finding that individuals
vaccinated with MeNZB were significantly less
likely to contract gonorrhoea compared with
unvaccinated controls

14. CONCLUSIONS
1 2
The vaccines against Neisseria
meningitidis become the first
approach to the possibility of
developing a vaccine that also helps
to fight the diseases caused by
Neisseria gonorrhea, since a high
level of homology and cross-
reactivity was identified between
the meningococcal and gonococcal
proteins of NHBA .
The molecular biology studies
carried out allowed a better
understanding of the processes
and similarities among the types
of Neisseria studied, where the
interpretation of these is sought
to provide the development of
polyvalent vaccines, reducing the
risks involved in vaccination.