Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Human CO-binding protein selectively interacts with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and results in species-specific infection

Ngampasutadol, J ; Ram, S ; Blom, Anna LU orcid ; Jarva, Hanna LU ; Jerse, AE ; Lien, E ; Goguen, J ; Gulati, S and Rice, PA (2005) In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(47). p.17142-17147
Abstract
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhea, a disease that is restricted to humans. Complement forms a key arm of the innate immune system that combats gonococcal infections. N. gonorrhoeae uses its outer membrane porin (Por) molecules to bind the classical pathway of complement down-regulatory protein C4b-binding protein (C4bp) to evade killing by human complement. Strains of N. gonorrhoeae that resisted killing by human serum complement were killed by serum from rodent, lagomorph, and primate species, which cannot be readily infected experimentally with this organism and whose C4bp molecules did not bind to N. gonorrhoeae. In contrast, we found that Yersinia pestis, an organism that can infect virtually all mammals, bound... (More)
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhea, a disease that is restricted to humans. Complement forms a key arm of the innate immune system that combats gonococcal infections. N. gonorrhoeae uses its outer membrane porin (Por) molecules to bind the classical pathway of complement down-regulatory protein C4b-binding protein (C4bp) to evade killing by human complement. Strains of N. gonorrhoeae that resisted killing by human serum complement were killed by serum from rodent, lagomorph, and primate species, which cannot be readily infected experimentally with this organism and whose C4bp molecules did not bind to N. gonorrhoeae. In contrast, we found that Yersinia pestis, an organism that can infect virtually all mammals, bound species-specific C4bp and uniformly resisted serum complement-mediated killing by these species. Serum resistance of gonococci was restored in these sera by human C4bp. An exception was serotype Por1B-bearing gonococcal strains that previously had been used successfully in a chimpanzee model of gonorrhea that simulates human disease. Por1B gonococci bound chimpanzee C4bp and resisted killing by chimpanzee serum, providing insight into the host restriction of gonorrhea and addressing why Por1B strains, but not Por1A strains, have been successful in experimental chimpanzee infection. Our findings may lead to the development of better animal models for gonorrhea and may also have implications in the choice of complement sources to evaluate neisserial vaccine candidates. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
complement, gonorrhea
in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
volume
102
issue
47
pages
17142 - 17147
publisher
National Academy of Sciences
external identifiers
  • wos:000233463200043
  • scopus:28044459813
  • pmid:16275906
ISSN
1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.0506471102
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0d83df2e-6077-43a6-a191-c1b0b28cb473 (old id 212023)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:43:27
date last changed
2022-03-12 23:44:53
@article{0d83df2e-6077-43a6-a191-c1b0b28cb473,
  abstract     = {{Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhea, a disease that is restricted to humans. Complement forms a key arm of the innate immune system that combats gonococcal infections. N. gonorrhoeae uses its outer membrane porin (Por) molecules to bind the classical pathway of complement down-regulatory protein C4b-binding protein (C4bp) to evade killing by human complement. Strains of N. gonorrhoeae that resisted killing by human serum complement were killed by serum from rodent, lagomorph, and primate species, which cannot be readily infected experimentally with this organism and whose C4bp molecules did not bind to N. gonorrhoeae. In contrast, we found that Yersinia pestis, an organism that can infect virtually all mammals, bound species-specific C4bp and uniformly resisted serum complement-mediated killing by these species. Serum resistance of gonococci was restored in these sera by human C4bp. An exception was serotype Por1B-bearing gonococcal strains that previously had been used successfully in a chimpanzee model of gonorrhea that simulates human disease. Por1B gonococci bound chimpanzee C4bp and resisted killing by chimpanzee serum, providing insight into the host restriction of gonorrhea and addressing why Por1B strains, but not Por1A strains, have been successful in experimental chimpanzee infection. Our findings may lead to the development of better animal models for gonorrhea and may also have implications in the choice of complement sources to evaluate neisserial vaccine candidates.}},
  author       = {{Ngampasutadol, J and Ram, S and Blom, Anna and Jarva, Hanna and Jerse, AE and Lien, E and Goguen, J and Gulati, S and Rice, PA}},
  issn         = {{1091-6490}},
  keywords     = {{complement; gonorrhea}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{47}},
  pages        = {{17142--17147}},
  publisher    = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}},
  title        = {{Human CO-binding protein selectively interacts with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and results in species-specific infection}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0506471102}},
  doi          = {{10.1073/pnas.0506471102}},
  volume       = {{102}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}