Prevalence of factor H Binding Protein sub-variants among Neisseria meningitidis in China

Fenglin Shi; Aiyu Zhang; Bingqing Zhu; Yuan Gao; Li Xu; Yixing Li; Zundong Yin; Junhong Li; Na Xie; Zhujun Shao

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.057

Prevalence of factor H Binding Protein sub-variants among Neisseria meningitidis in China

Vaccine. 2017 Apr 25;35(18):2343-2350. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.057. Epub 2017 Mar 25.

Authors

Fenglin Shi¹, Aiyu Zhang¹, Bingqing Zhu², Yuan Gao¹, Li Xu¹, Yixing Li³, Zundong Yin³, Junhong Li³, Na Xie⁴, Zhujun Shao⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
² National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of National Immunization Program, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
⁴ National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China; School of Public Health, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China; Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China.
⁵ National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: shaozhujun@icdc.cn.

PMID: 28351732
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.057

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence of the fHbp genes in Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) isolates for further evaluation and development of serogroup B meningococcal vaccines in China.

Methods: A panel of 1012 N. meningitidis strains was selected from the national culture collection from 1956 to 2016, according to the years of isolation, locations, and strain sources. These were tested by FHbp variant typing. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on 822 of these samples, including 242 strains from clinical strains and 580 carrier-derived strains. Analysis based on sequence types, serogroups, and FHbp variations were used to summarize the prevalence and characteristics of N. meningitidis.

Results: There were 8 serogroups of N. meningitidis as well as a collection of nongroupable strains in this study. 1008 of 1012 N. meningitidis strains tested were positive for the fHbp gene. Serogroup A N. meningitidis (MenA) strains belonging to ST-1 and ST-5 clonal complexes harbored genes only encoding variant 1 (v1) FHbp. All MenW strains encoded v2 FHbp. 61.9% of clinical MenB strains were positive for v2 FHbp vs. 32.1% that were positive for v1. Among fHbp-positive carrier-derived MenB strains, v2 FHbp accounted for 90.8%. 79.7% of clinical MenC strains were positive for v1 FHbp and 20.3% were positive for v2 FHbp. Among carrier-derived MenC strains, v2 FHbp predominated. The number of major serogroups of N. meningitidis analyzed by MLST was 822, and the encoded FHbp showed CC- or ST-specific characteristics.

Conclusion: fHbp genes were detected in almost all N. meningitidis strains in this study. Therefore, it is possible that a vaccine against MenB or meningococci irrespective of serogroups, which includes FHbp, could be developed. Meningococcal vaccine development for China is a complex issue and these findings warrant further attention with respect to vaccine development.

Keywords: Factor H Binding Protein; Neisseria meningitidis; Vaccine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antigens, Bacterial / classification*
Antigens, Bacterial / genetics*
Bacterial Proteins / classification*
Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
Carrier State / microbiology
China
Gene Frequency
Genetic Variation*
Genotype
Humans
Meningococcal Infections / microbiology
Molecular Typing
Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / genetics*
Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / isolation & purification*

Substances

Antigens, Bacterial
Bacterial Proteins
factor H-binding protein, Neisseria meningitidis