U.S. patent application number 12/775457 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-02 for meningococcus adhesins nada, app and orf 40.
Invention is credited to Maria Arico, Maurizio Comanducci.
Application Number | 20100221256 12/775457 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27256234 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100221256 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Arico; Maria ; et
al. |
September 2, 2010 |
MENINGOCOCCUS ADHESINS NADA, APP AND ORF 40
Abstract
NadA, App and ORF40 function as adhesins in N. meningitidis.
Adhesion can be modulated by targeting these three proteins. NadA
allelic variants are disclosed. Autoproteolytic cleavage of App is
disclosed, as is removal of the activity by mutagenesis. App is
processed and secreted into culture medium when expressed in E.
coli. Mature App proteins are disclosed. Knockout mutants are
disclosed. Vesicles from non-Neisserial hosts with heterologous
adhesin expression are disclosed.
Inventors: |
Arico; Maria; (Siena,
IT) ; Comanducci; Maurizio; (Siena, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NOVARTIS VACCINES AND DIAGNOSTICS INC.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY- X100B, P.O. BOX 8097
Emeryville
CA
94662-8097
US
|
Family ID: |
27256234 |
Appl. No.: |
12/775457 |
Filed: |
May 6, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10484703 |
Mar 7, 2005 |
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PCT/IB02/03396 |
Jul 26, 2002 |
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12775457 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
424/139.1 ;
435/252.1; 530/387.9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61K 2039/53 20130101;
C07K 14/22 20130101; A61P 31/04 20180101; A61K 39/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
424/139.1 ;
530/387.9; 435/252.1 |
International
Class: |
A61K 39/395 20060101
A61K039/395; C07K 16/00 20060101 C07K016/00; C12N 1/20 20060101
C12N001/20; A61P 31/04 20060101 A61P031/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 27, 2001 |
GB |
0118401.9 |
Sep 6, 2001 |
GB |
0121591.2 |
May 14, 2002 |
GB |
0211025.2 |
Claims
1. An isolated antibody that specifically binds to NMB1994, wherein
NMB1994 comprises residues 24-343 of SEQ ID NO:2, or residues
24-350 of SEQ ID NO:3.
2. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody is a polyclonal
antibody.
3. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody is a monoclonal
antibody.
4. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody specifically
binds to said NMB1994 comprising residues 24-343 of SEQ ID
NO:2.
5. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody specifically
binds to said NMB1994 comprising residues 24-350 of SEQ ID
NO:3.
6. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody is able to bind
to a bacterium of a Neisseria meningitidis strain that expresses
NadA.
7. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody is able to induce
complement-mediated killing of a Neisseria meningitidis strain that
expresses NadA.
8. The antibody of claim 7, wherein said strain is selected from
the group consisting of 2996, C11, F6124 and MC58.
9. The antibody of claim 1, wherein said antibody is able to reduce
bacteremia in a subject exposed to a Neisseria meningitidis strain
that expresses NadA.
10. A method, comprising: administering an isolated antibody that
specifically binds to NMB1994 to a subject, wherein NMB1994
comprises residues 24-343 of SEQ ID NO:2, or residues 24-350 of SEQ
ID NO:3.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein said subject has been exposed
to a Neisseria meningitidis strain that expresses NadA.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said administering reduces
bacteremia.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein said antibody specifically
binds to said NMB1994 comprising residues 24-343 of SEQ ID
NO:2.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein said antibody specifically
binds to said NMB1994 comprising residues 24-350 of SEQ ID
NO:3.
15. A method, comprising: contacting a bacterium of a Neisseria
meningitidis strain that expresses NadA with an isolated antibody
that specifically binds to NMB1994, wherein NMB1994 comprises
residues 24-343 of SEQ ID NO:2, or residues 24-350 of SEQ ID
NO:3.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said antibody binds to said
bacterium.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the ability of said bacterium
to bind to an epithelial cell is blocked when bound to said
antibody
18. A method for preventing the attachment of a Neisseria
meningitidis cell to an epithelial cell through NMB1994 mediated
adhesion in a human subject by administering to the human subject
an antibody that specifically binds to NMB1994, wherein NMB1994
comprises residues 24-343 of SEQ ID NO:2 or residues 24-350 of SEQ
ID NO:3, and wherein the antibody inhibits NMB1994's ability to
bind to the epithelial cell.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein NMB1994 comprises residues
24-343 of SEQ ID NO:2.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein NMB1994 comprises residues
24-350 of SEQ ID NO:3.
Description
[0001] All documents cited herein are incorporated by reference in
their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention is in the field of biochemistry and, in
particular, the biochemistry of the pathogenic bacteria in the
genus Neisseria (e.g. N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae).
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] International patent applications WO99/24578, WO99/36544,
WO99/57280 and WO00/22430 disclose proteins from Neisseria
meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The complete genome
sequence of serogroup B N. meningitidis has been published
[Tettelin et al. (2000) Science 287:1809-1815] and has been
subjected to analysis in order to identify vaccine antigens [Pizza
et al. (2000) Science 287:1816-1820]. Approaches to expression of
the proteins are disclosed in WO01/64922. The complete genome
sequence of serogroup A N. meningitidis is also known [Parkhill et
al. (2000) Nature 404:502-506].
[0004] Sequence data alone, however, does not reveal everything
about this pathogen. Objects of the present invention include: (a)
to provide ways of intervening in Neisseria biochemistry; (b) to
provide new uses for known Neisseria proteins; (c) to provide
alternative and improved forms of known Neisseria proteins, such as
enzymatically inactive forms of known proteins or proteolytic
products of known proteins; and (d) to provide materials useful for
studying and modulating Neisserial adhesion.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Nomenclature Used Herein
[0005] `ORF40` is disclosed in example 1 of WO99/36544. Sequences
from serogroups A and B of N. meningitidis are disclosed (SEQ IDs 1
to 6 therein). Other forms of the protein are disclosed in
WO99/31132 and WO99/58683, and can also be found in GenBank (see gi
accession numbers: 11352902, 7228562, 14578015, 12958107, 7228586,
7228572, 7228594, 7228588, 14578013, 7228568, 7228546, 7228548,
7228592, 14578009, 7228558, 7228600, 7228596, 7228542, 7228574,
7228552, 7228554, 14578023, 14578021, 11354080, 7228584 &
7228590).
[0006] `App` (adhesion and penetration protein) is disclosed as
`ORF1` in example 77 of WO99/24578. Sequences from serogroups A and
B of N. meningitidis and from N. gonorrhoeae are disclosed (SEQ IDs
647 to 654 therein). Other forms of the protein are disclosed in
WO99/55873, and can also be found in GenBank (see gi accession
numbers: 11280386, 7227246, 11071865, 6977941, 11071863, 11280387,
7379205).
[0007] `NadA` (Neisserial adhesin A) from serogroup B of N.
meningitidis is disclosed as protein `961` in WO99/57280 (SEQ IDs
2943 & 2944) and as `NMB1994` by Tettelin et al. (see also
GenBank accession numbers: 11352904 & 7227256) and in FIG. 9
herein.
[0008] These proteins are preferably expressed other than as a
fusion protein (e.g. without GST, MBP, his-tag or similar).
[0009] Preferred proteins for use according to the invention are
those of serogroup B N. meningitidis strain MC58, strain 2996 or
strain 394/98 (a New Zealand strain). It will be appreciated,
however, that the invention is not in general limited by
strain--references to a particular protein (e.g. `ORF40`, `App`
etc.) may be taken to include that protein from any strain. In
general, therefore, reference to any particular protein includes
proteins which share sequence identity with one of the sequences
disclosed above. The degree of `sequence identity` is preferably
greater than 50% (eg. 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99% or more). This
includes mutants and allelic variants. In the context of the
present invention, sequence identity is preferably determined by
the Smith-Waterman homology search algorithm as implemented in the
MPSRCH program (Oxford Molecular), using an affine gap search with
parameters gap open penalty=12 and gap extension penalty=1.
Typically, 50% identity or more between two proteins is considered
to be an indication of functional equivalence.
[0010] The naming conventions used in WO99/24578, WO99/36544 and
WO99/57280 are also used herein (e.g. `ORF4`, `ORF40`, `ORF40-1`
etc. as used in WO99/24578 and WO99/36544; `m919`, `g919` and
`a919` etc. as used in WO99/57280).
Secreted App
[0011] It has been found that, when expressed in E. coli without a
GST or his-tag fusion partner, App is exported to the outer
membrane as a precursor of about 160 kDa, where it is processed and
secreted into the culture.
[0012] The invention therefore provides a method for purifying
processed App protein, comprising the steps of: expressing a gene
encoding App protein in a non-Neisserial host cell; and purifying
processed App protein from the culture medium.
[0013] The invention also provides purified protein obtainable by
this process.
[0014] The App protein preferably includes its wild-type 42 residue
signal peptide at the N-terminus i.e. no N-terminus fusion partner
is used. It is also preferred not to include a C-terminus fusion
partner.
[0015] To purify the protein from the culture medium, the culture
can be centrifuged and the protein can be recovered from the
supernatant.
[0016] The non-Neisserial host cell is preferably a bacterium and
is most preferably E. coli.
[0017] Bacterial expression techniques are known in the art. A
bacterial promoter is any DNA sequence capable of binding bacterial
RNA polymerase and initiating the downstream (3') transcription of
a coding sequence (eg. structural gene) into mRNA. A promoter will
have a transcription initiation region which is usually placed
proximal to the 5' end of the coding sequence. This transcription
initiation region usually includes an RNA polymerase binding site
and a transcription initiation site. A bacterial promoter may also
have a second domain called an operator, that may overlap an
adjacent RNA polymerase binding site at which RNA synthesis begins.
The operator permits negative regulated (inducible) transcription,
as a gene repressor protein may bind the operator and thereby
inhibit transcription of a specific gene. Constitutive expression
may occur in the absence of negative regulatory elements, such as
the operator. In addition, positive regulation may be achieved by a
gene activator protein binding sequence, which, if present is
usually proximal (5') to the RNA polymerase binding sequence. An
example of a gene activator protein is the catabolite activator
protein (CAP), which helps initiate transcription of the lac operon
in Escherichia coli (E. coli) [Raibaud et al. (1984) Annu. Rev.
Genet. 18:173]. Regulated expression may therefore be either
positive or negative, thereby either enhancing or reducing
transcription.
[0018] Sequences encoding metabolic pathway enzymes provide
particularly useful promoter sequences. Examples include promoter
sequences derived from sugar metabolizing enzymes, such as
galactose, lactose (lac) [Chang et al. (1977) Nature 198:1056], and
maltose. Additional examples include promoter sequences derived
from biosynthetic enzymes such as tryptophan (tip) [Goeddel et al.
(1980) Nuc. Acids Res. 8:4057; Yelverton et al. (1981) Nucl. Acids
Res. 9:731; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,921; EP-A-0036776 and
EP-A-0121775]. The g-laotamase (bla) promoter system [Weissmann
(1981) "The cloning of interferon and other mistakes." In
Interferon 3 (ed. I. Gresser)], bacteriophage lambda PL [Shimatake
et al. (1981) Nature 292:128] and T5 [U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,406]
promoter systems also provide useful promoter sequences.
[0019] In addition, synthetic promoters which do not occur in
nature also function as bacterial promoters. For example,
transcription activation sequences of one bacterial or
bacteriophage promoter may be joined with the operon sequences of
another bacterial or bacteriophage promoter, creating a synthetic
hybrid promoter [U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,433]. For example, the tac
promoter is a hybrid trp-lac promoter comprised of both trp
promoter and lac operon sequences that is regulated by the lac
repressor [Amann et al. (1983) Gene 25:167; de Boer et al. (1983)
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 80:21]. Furthermore, a bacterial promoter
can include naturally occurring promoters of non-bacterial origin
that have the ability to bind bacterial RNA polymerase and initiate
transcription. A naturally occurring promoter of non-bacterial
origin can also be coupled with a compatible RNA polymerase to
produce high levels of expression of some genes in prokaryotes. The
bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system is an example of a
coupled promoter system [Studier et al. (1986) J. Mol. Biol.
189:113; Tabor et al. (1985) Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. 82:1074]. In
addition, a hybrid promoter can also be comprised of a
bacteriophage promoter and an E. coli operator region (EPO-A-0 267
851).
[0020] In addition to a functioning promoter sequence, an efficient
ribosome binding site is also useful for the expression of foreign
genes in prokaryotes. In E. coli, the ribosome binding site is
called the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and includes an initiation
codon (ATG) and a sequence 3-9 nucleotides in length located 3-11
nucleotides upstream of the initiation codon [Shine et al. (1975)
Nature 254:34]. The SD sequence is thought to promote binding of
mRNA to the ribosome by the pairing of bases between the SD
sequence and the 3' and of E. coli 16S rRNA [Steitz et al. (1979)
"Genetic signals and nucleotide sequences in messenger RNA." In
Biological Regulation and Development: Gene Expression (ed. R. F.
Goldberger)]. To express eukaryotic genes and prokaryotic genes
with weak ribosome-binding site [Sambrook et al. (1989) "Expression
of cloned genes in Escherichia coli." In Molecular Cloning: A
Laboratory Manual].
[0021] A promoter sequence may be directly linked with the DNA
molecule, in which case the first amino acid at the N-terminus will
always be a methionine, which is encoded by the ATG start codon. If
desired, methionine at the N-terminus may be cleaved from the
protein by in vitro incubation with cyanogen bromide or by either
in vivo on in vitro incubation with a bacterial methionine
N-terminal peptidase (EP-A-0219237).
[0022] Usually, transcription termination sequences recognized by
bacteria are regulatory regions located 3' to the translation stop
codon, and thus together with the promoter flank the coding
sequence. These sequences direct the transcription of an mRNA which
can be translated into the polypeptide encoded by the DNA.
Transcription termination sequences frequently include DNA
sequences of about 50 nucleotides capable of forming stem loop
structures that aid in terminating transcription. Examples include
transcription termination sequences derived from genes with strong
promoters, such as the trp gene in E. coli as well as other
biosynthetic genes.
[0023] Usually, the above described components, comprising a
promoter, signal sequence (if desired), coding sequence of
interest, and transcription termination sequence, are put together
into expression constructs. Expression constructs are often
maintained in a replicon, such as an extrachromosomal element (eg.
plasmids) capable of stable maintenance in a host, such as
bacteria. The replicon will have a replication system, thus
allowing it to be maintained in a prokaryotic host either for
expression or for cloning and amplification. In addition, a
replicon may be either a high or low copy number plasmid. A high
copy number plasmid will generally have a copy number ranging from
about 5 to about 200, and usually about 10 to about 150. A host
containing a high copy number plasmid will preferably contain at
least about 10, and more preferably at least about 20 plasmids.
Either a high or low copy number vector may be selected, depending
upon the effect of the vector and the foreign protein on the
host.
[0024] Alternatively, the expression constructs can be integrated
into the bacterial genome with an integrating vector. Integrating
vectors usually contain at least one sequence homologous to the
bacterial chromosome that allows the vector to integrate.
Integrations appear to result from recombinations between
homologous DNA in the vector and the bacterial chromosome. For
example, integrating vectors constructed with DNA from various
Bacillus strains integrate into the Bacillus chromosome
(EP-A-0127328). Integrating vectors may also be comprised of
bacteriophage or transposon sequences.
[0025] Usually, extrachromosomal and integrating expression
constructs may contain selectable markers to allow for the
selection of bacterial strains that have been transformed.
Selectable markers can be expressed in the bacterial host and may
include genes which render bacteria resistant to drugs such as
ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin (neomycin),
and tetracycline [Davies et al. (1978) Annu. Rev. Microbiol.
32:469]. Selectable markers may also include biosynthetic genes,
such as those in the histidine, tryptophan, and leucine
biosynthetic pathways.
[0026] Alternatively, some of the above described components can be
put together in transformation vectors. Transformation vectors are
usually comprised of a selectable market that is either maintained
in a replicon or developed into an integrating vector, as described
above.
[0027] Expression and transformation vectors, either
extra-chromosomal replicons or integrating vectors, have been
developed for transformation into many bacteria. For example,
expression vectors have been developed for, inter alia, the
following bacteria: Bacillus subtilis [Palva et al. (1982) Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79:5582; EP-A-0 036 259 and EP-A-0 063 953; WO
84/04541], Escherichia coli [Shimatake et al. (1981) Nature
292:128; Amann et al. (1985) Gene 40:183; Studier et al. (1986) J.
Mol. Biol. 189:113; EP-A-0 036 776, EP-A-0 136 829 and EP-A-0 136
907], Streptococcus cremoris [Powell et al. (1988) Appl. Environ.
Microbiol. 54:655]; Streptococcus lividans [Powell et al. (1988)
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54:655], Streptomyces lividans [U.S. Pat.
No. 4,745,056].
[0028] Methods of introducing exogenous DNA into bacterial hosts
are well-known in the art, and usually include either the
transformation of bacteria treated with CaCl.sub.2 or other agents,
such as divalent cations and DMSO. DNA can also be introduced into
bacterial cells by electroporation. Transformation procedures
usually vary with the bacterial species to be transformed. See eg.
[Masson et al. (1989) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 60:273; Palva et al.
(1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79:5582; EP-A-0 036 259 and
EP-A-0 063 953; WO 84/04541, Bacillus], [Miller et al. (1988) Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:856; Wang et al. (1990) J. Bacteriol. 172:949,
Campylobacter], [Cohen et al. (1973)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 69:2110;
Dower et al. (1988) Nucleic Acids Res. 16:6127; Kushner (1978) "An
improved method for transformation of Escherichia coli with
ColE1-derived plasmids. In Genetic Engineering Proceedings of the
International Symposium on Genetic Engineering (eds. H. W. Boyer
and S. Nicosia); Mandel et al. (1970) J. Mol. Biol. 53:159; Taketo
(1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 949:318; Escherichia], [Chassy et al.
(1987) FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 44:173 Lactobacillus]; [Fiedler et al.
(1988) Anal. Biochem 170:38, Pseudomonas]; [Augustin et al. (1990)
FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 66:203, Staphylococcus], [Barany et al.
(1980) J. Bacteriol. 144:698; Harlander (1987) "Transformation of
Streptococcus lactis by electroporation, in: Streptococcal Genetics
(ed. J. Ferretti and R. Curtiss III); Perry et al. (1981) Infect.
Immun. 32:1295; Powell et al. (1988) Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
54:655; Somkuti et al. (1987) Proc. 4th Evr. Cong. Biotechnology
1:412, Streptococcus].
Adherence Proteins
[0029] Example 22 of international patent application WO01/64922
discloses that E. coli which expresses protein NadA can adhere to
human epithelial cells. This adherence activity has been further
studied and it has also been found for App and ORF40.
[0030] The invention provides methods for preventing the attachment
of Neisserial cells to epithelial cells.
[0031] References to a "Neisserial cell" in this section include
any species of the bacterial genus Neisseria, including N.
gonorrhoeae and N. lactamica. Preferably, however, the species is
N. meningitidis. The N. meningitidis may be from any serogroup,
including serogroups A, C, W135 and Y. Most preferably, however, it
is N. meningitidis serogroup B.
[0032] References to an "epithelial cell" in this section include
any cell found in or derived from the epithelium of a mammal. The
cell may be in vitro (e.g. in cell culture) or in vivo. Preferred
epithelial cells are from the nasopharynx. The cells are most
preferably human cells.
Blocking the Neisseria-Epithelium Interaction
[0033] The invention provides a method for preventing the
attachment of a Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell, wherein the
ability of one or more App, ORF40 and/or NadA to bind to the
epithelial cell is blocked.
[0034] The ability to bind may be blocked in various ways but, most
conveniently, an antibody specific for App, ORF40 and/or NadA is
used. The invention also provides antibody which is specific for
App, ORF40 or NadA. This antibody preferably has an affinity for
App, ORF40 and/or NadA of at least 10.sup.-7 M e.g. 10.sup.-8 M,
10.sup.-9 M, 10.sup.-10 M or tighter.
[0035] Antibodies for use in accordance with the invention may be
polyclonal, but are preferably monoclonal. It will be appreciated
that the term "antibody" includes whole antibodies (e.g. IgG, IgA
etc), derivatives of whole antibodies which retain the
antigen-binding sites (e.g. F.sub.ab, F.sub.ab', F.sub.(ab')2
etc.), single chain antibodies (e.g. sFv), chimeric antibodies,
CDR-grafted antibodies, humanised antibodies, univalent antibodies,
human monoclonal antibodies [e.g. Green (1999) J. Immunol Methods
231:11-23; Kipriyanov & Little (1999) Mol Biotechnol 12:173-201
etc.] and the like. Humanised antibodies may be preferable to those
which are fully human [e.g. Fletcher (2001) Nature Biotechnology
19:395-96].
[0036] As an alternative to using antibodies, antagonists of the
interaction between App, ORF40 or NadA and its receptor on the
epithelial cell may be used. As a further alternative, a soluble
form of the epithelial cell receptor may be used as a decoy. These
can be produced by removing the receptor's transmembrane and,
optionally, cytoplasmic regions [e.g. EP-B2-0139417, EP-A-0609580
etc.].
[0037] The antibodies, antagonists and soluble receptors of the
invention may be used as medicaments to prevent the attachment of a
Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell.
Inhibiting Expression of the Neisserial Gene
[0038] The invention provides a method for preventing the
attachment of a Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell, wherein
protein expression from one or more of App, ORF40 and/or NadA is
inhibited. The inhibition may be at the level of transcription
and/or translation.
[0039] A preferred technique for inhibiting expression of the gene
is antisense [e.g. Piddock (1998) Curr Opin Microbiol 1:502-8;
Nielsen (2001) Expert Opin Investig Drugs 10:331-41; Good &
Nielsen (1998) Nature Biotechnol 16:355-358; Rahman et al. (1991)
Antisense Res Dev 1:319-327; Methods in Enzymology volumes 313
& 314; Manual of Antisense Methodology (eds. Hartmann &
Endres); Antisense Therapeutics (ed. Agrawal) etc.]. Antibacterial
antisense techniques are disclosed in, for example, international
patent applications WO99/02673 and WO99/13893.
[0040] The invention also provides nucleic acid comprising a
fragment of x or more nucleotides from nucleic acid which encodes
App, ORF40 or NadA, wherein x is at least 8 (e.g. 8, 10, 12, 14,
16, 18, 20, 25, 30 or more). The nucleic acid will typically be
single-stranded.
[0041] The nucleic acid is preferably of the formula
5'-(N).sub.a-(X)-(N).sub.b-3', wherein 0.gtoreq.a.gtoreq.15,
0.gtoreq.b.gtoreq.15, N is any nucleotide, and X is a fragment of a
nucleic acid which encodes App, ORF40 or NadA. X preferably
comprises at least 8 nucleotides (e.g. 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20,
25, 30 or more). The values of a and b may independently be 0, 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15. Each individual
nucleotide N in the -(N).sub.a- and -(N).sub.b-portions of the
nucleic acid may be the same or different. The length of the
nucleic acid (i.e. a+b+length of X) is preferably less than 100
(e.g. less than 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30 etc.).
[0042] It will be appreciated that the term "nucleic acid" includes
DNA, RNA, DNA/RNA hybrids, DNA and RNA analogues such as those
containing modified backbones (with modifications in the sugar
and/or phosphates e.g. phosphorothioates, phosphoramidites etc.),
and also peptide nucleic acids (PNA) and any other polymer
comprising purine and pyrimidine bases or other natural, chemically
or biochemically modified, non-natural, or derivatized nucleotide
bases etc. Nucleic acid according to the invention can be prepared
in many ways (e.g. by chemical synthesis, from genomic or cDNA
libraries, from the organism itself etc.) and can take various
forms (e.g. single stranded, double stranded, vectors, probes
etc.).
[0043] The antisense nucleic acids of the invention may be used as
medicaments to prevent the attachment of a Neisserial cell to an
epithelial cell.
Knockout of the Neisserial Gene
[0044] The invention provides a method for preventing the
attachment of a Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell, wherein one
or more of App, ORF40 and/or NadA is knocked out.
[0045] The invention also provides a Neisseria bacterium in which
one or more of App, ORF40 and/or NadA has been knocked out.
[0046] Techniques for producing knockout bacteria are well known,
and knockout Neisseria have been reported [e.g. Moe et al. (2001)
Infect. Immun. 69:3762-3771; Seifert (1997) Gene 188:215-220; Zhu
et al. (2000) J. Bacteriol. 182:439-447 etc.].
[0047] The knockout mutation may be situated in the coding region
of the gene or may lie within its transcriptional control regions
(e.g. within its promoter).
[0048] The knockout mutation will reduce the level of mRNA encoding
App, ORF40 and/or NadA to <1% of that produced by the wild-type
bacterium, preferably <0.5%, more preferably <0.1%, and most
preferably to 0%.
[0049] The knockout mutants of the invention may be used as
immunogenic compositions (e.g. as vaccines) to prevent Neisserial
infection. Such a vaccine may include the mutant as a live
attenuated bacterium.
Mutagenesis of the Neisserial Gene
[0050] The invention provides a method for preventing the
attachment of a Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell, wherein one
or more of App, ORF40 and/or NadA has a mutation which inhibits its
activity.
[0051] The invention also provides a mutant protein, wherein the
mutant protein comprises the amino acid sequence of App, ORF40
and/or NadA, or a fragment thereof, but wherein one or more amino
acids of said amino acid sequence is/are mutated (e.g. see below
for App).
[0052] The amino acids which is/are mutated preferably result in
the reduction or removal of an activity of App, ORF40 and/or NadA
which is responsible directly or indirectly for adhesion to
epithelial cells. For example, the mutation may inhibit an
enzymatic activity or may remove a binding site in the protein.
[0053] The invention also provides nucleic acid encoding this
mutant protein.
[0054] The invention also provides a method for producing this
nucleic acid, comprising the steps of: (a) providing source nucleic
acid encoding App, ORF40 or NadA, and (b) performing mutagenesis
(e.g. site-directed mutagenesis) on said source nucleic acid to
provide nucleic acid encoding a mutant protein.
[0055] Mutation may involve deletion, substitution, and/or
insertion, any of which may be involve one or more amino acids. As
an alternative, the mutation may involve truncation.
[0056] Mutagenesis of virulence, factors is a well-established
science for many bacteria [e.g. toxin mutagenesis described in
WO93/13202; Rappuoli & Pizza, Chapter 1 of Sourcebook of
Bacterial Protein Toxins (ISBN 0-12-053078-3); Pizza et al. (2001)
Vaccine 19:2534-41; Alape-Giron et al. (2000) Eur J Biochem
267:5191-5197; Kitten et al. (2000) Infect Immun 68:4441-4451;
Gubba et al. (2000) Infect Immun 68:3716-3719; Boulnois et al.
(1991) Mol Microbiol 5:2611-2616 etc.] including Neisseria [e.g.
Power et al. (2000) Microbiology 146:967-979; Forest et al. (1999)
Mol Microbiol 31:743-752; Cornelissen et al. (1998) Mol Microbiol
27:611-616; Lee et al. (1995) Infect Immun 63:2508-2515; Robertson
et al. (1993) Mol Microbiol 8:891-901 etc.].
[0057] Mutagenesis may be specifically targeted to nucleic acid
encoding App, ORF40 and/or NadA. Alternatively, mutagenesis may be
global or random (e.g. by irradiation, chemical mutagenesis etc.),
which will typically be followed by screening bacteria for those in
which a mutation has been introduced into App, ORF40 and/or NadA.
Such screening may be by hybridisation assays (e.g. Southern or
Northern blots etc.), primer-based amplification (e.g. PCR),
sequencing, proteomics, aberrant SDS-PAGE gel migration etc.
[0058] The mutant proteins and nucleic acids of the invention may
be used as immunogenic compositions (e.g. as vaccines) to prevent
Neisserial infection.
Screening Methods
[0059] The invention also provides methods for screening compounds
to identify those (antagonists) which inhibit the binding of a
Neisserial cell to an epithelial cell.
[0060] Potential antagonists for screening include small organic
molecules, peptides, peptoids, polypeptides, lipids, metals,
nucleotides, nucleosides, polyamines, antibodies, and derivatives
thereof. Small organic molecules have a molecular weight between 50
and about 2,500 daltons, and most preferably in the range 200-800
daltons. Complex mixtures of substances, such as extracts
containing natural products, compound libraries or the products of
mixed combinatorial syntheses also contain potential
antagonists.
[0061] Typically, App, ORF40 and/or NadA protein is incubated with
an epithelial cell and a test compound, and the mixture is then
tested to see if the interaction between the protein and the
epithelial cell has been inhibited.
[0062] Inhibition will, of course, be determined relative to a
standard (e.g. the native protein/cell interaction). Preferably,
the standard is a control value measured in the absence of the test
compound. It will be appreciated that the standard may have been
determined before performing the method, or may be determined
during or after the method has been performed. It may also be an
absolute standard.
[0063] The protein, cell and compound may be mixed in any
order.
[0064] For preferred high-throughput screening methods, all the
biochemical steps for this assay are performed in a single solution
in, for instance, a test tube or microtitre plate, and the test
compounds are analysed initially at a single compound
concentration. For the purposes of high throughput screening, the
experimental conditions are adjusted to achieve a proportion of
test compounds identified as "positive" compounds from amongst the
total compounds screened.
[0065] Other methods which may be used include, for example,
reverse two hybrid screening [e.g. Vidal & Endoh (1999) TIBTECH
17:374-381] in which the inhibition of the Neisseria:receptor
interaction is reported as a failure to activate transcription.
[0066] The method may also simply involve incubating one or more
test compound(s) with App, ORF40 and/or NadA and determining if
they interact. Compounds that interact with the protein can then be
tested for their ability to block an interaction between the
protein and an epithelial cell.
[0067] The invention also provides a compound identified using
these methods. These can be used to treat or prevent Neisserial
infection. The compound preferably has an affinity for App, ORF40
and/or NadA of at least 10.sup.-7 M e.g. 10.sup.-8 M, 10.sup.-9 M,
10.sup.-10 M or tighter.
[0068] The invention also provides a composition comprising (a) an
E. coli bacterium which expresses App and/or ORF40 (and,
optionally, NadA) and (b) an epithelial cell (e.g. a human
epithelial cell).
Expression in Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs)
[0069] International patent application WO01/52885 discloses that
the addition of further defined components to OMV vaccines
significantly broadens their efficacy.
[0070] The preparation of OMVs from NmB is well-known in the art.
Methods for obtaining suitable preparations are disclosed in, for
instance: Claassen et al. [Vaccine (1996) 14:1001-1008]; Cartwright
et al. [Vaccine (1999) 17:2612-2619]; Peeters et al. [Vaccine
(1996) 14:1009-1015]; Fu et al. [Biotechnology NY (1995)
12:170-74]; Davies et al. [J. Immunol. Meth. (1990) 134:215-225];
Saunders et al. [Infect. Immun. (1999) 67:113-119]; Draabick et al.
[Vaccine (2000) 18:160-172]; Moreno et al. [Infect. Immun. (1985)
47:527-533]; Milagres et al. [Infect. Immun. (1994) 62:4419-4424];
Naess et al. [Infect. Immun. (1998) 66:959-965]; Rosenqvist et al.
[Dev. Biol. Stand. (1998) 92:323-333]; Haneberg et al. [Infect.
Immunn. (1998) 66:1334-41]; Andersen et al. [Vaccine (1997)
15:1225-34]; Bjune et al. [Lancet (1991) 338:1093-96] etc.
[0071] It has now been found that OMVs prepared from E. coli which
express a heterologous Neisseria gene can give better results in
standard immunogenicity tests than the antigens in purified
form.
[0072] The invention therefore provides a method for preparing an
OMV from a non-Neisserial host cell, characterised in that said
cell expresses a gene encoding App, ORF40 or NadA protein.
[0073] The invention also provides (a) OMVs obtainable by this
process, and (b) an outer membrane vesicle from a non-Neisserial
host cell, characterised in that said cell expresses a gene
encoding App, ORF40 or NadA protein.
[0074] The non-Neisserial host cell is preferably a bacterium and
is most preferably E. coli.
[0075] More generally, the invention provides a method for
preparing an OMV from a non-Neisserial host cell, characterised in
that said cell expresses a gene encoding one or more of the
following proteins: [0076] (A) Even SEQ IDs 2-892 from WO99/24578;
[0077] (B) Even SEQ IDs 2-90 from WO99/36544; [0078] (C) Even SEQ
IDs 2-3020 from WO99/57280; [0079] (D) Even SEQ IDs 3040-3114 from
WO99/57280; [0080] (E) SEQ IDs 3115-3241 from WO99/57280; [0081]
(F) The 2160 proteins NMB0001 to NMB2160 from Tettelin et al.
[supra]; [0082] (G) A protein comprising the amino acid sequence of
one or more of (A) to (F); [0083] (H) A protein sharing sequence
identity with the amino acid sequence of one or more of (A) to (F);
and [0084] (I) A protein comprising a fragment of one or more of
(A) to (F).
[0085] Similarly, the invention also provides (a) OMVs obtainable
by this process, and (b) an outer membrane vesicle from a
non-Neisserial host cell, characterised in that said cell expresses
a gene encoding one or more of proteins (A) to (I) described
above.
[0086] The degree of `sequence identity` referred to in (H) is
preferably greater than 50% (eg. 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99% or
more) and this includes mutants and allelic variants
[0087] The `fragment` referred to in (I) should comprise at least n
consecutive amino acids from one or more of (A) to (F) and,
depending on the particular sequence, n is 7 or more (eg. 8, 10,
12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or
more). Preferably the fragment comprises an epitope from one or
more of (A) to (F). Preferred fragments are those disclosed in
WO00/71574 and WO01/04316.
[0088] Preferred proteins for (A) to (F) are found in N.
meningitidis serogroup B.
Mutants of App
[0089] Amino acid 267 of SEQ ID 650 of WO99/24578 (SEQ ID 32
herein) is a serine. App is believed to be a serine protease and
this serine is believed to be a catalytic residue at its active
site. It will be appreciated that standard sequence alignment
techniques will reveal the amino acid corresponding to this Ser-267
for any other App sequence (e.g. Ser-260 in SEQ ID 652 of
WO99/24578, Ser-267 in SEQ ID 654 etc.).
[0090] The invention provides a protein comprising the amino acid
sequence of App, except that one or more of amino acids Ser-267,
Asp-158 and His-115 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32) is/are
mutated. The mutation may be a deletion, an insertion or,
preferably, a substitution. The substitution is preferably with one
of the 19 other naturally-occurring amino acids and is more
preferably with glycine, alanine, tyrosine or lysine.
[0091] App is believed to cleaved at a site between amino acids
1063 and 1171 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32). It will be
appreciated that standard sequence alignment techniques will reveal
the amino acids corresponding to these two residues for any other
App sequence.
[0092] The invention provides a protein comprising the amino acid
sequence of App, except that one or more amino acid(s) between
Ser-1064 and Arg-1171 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32) is mutated.
The mutation may be a deletion, an insertion, truncation or,
preferably, a substitution. The substitution is preferably with one
of the 19 other naturally-occurring amino acids. The residue which
is mutated is preferably S-1064, D-1065, K-1066, L-1067, G-1068,
K-1069, A-1070, E-1071, A-1072, K-1073, K-1074, Q-1075, A-1076,
E-1077, K-1078, D-1079, N-1080, A-1081, Q-1082, S-1083, L-1084,
D-1085, A-1086, L-1087, I-1088, A-1089, A-1090, G-1091, R-1092,
D-1093, A-1094, V-1095, E-1096, K-1097, T-1098, E-1099, S-1100,
V-1101, A-1102, E-1103, P-1104, A-1105, R-1106, Q-1107, A-1108,
G-1109, G-1110, E-1111, N-1112, V-1113, G-1114, I-1115, M-1116,
Q-1117, A-1118, E-1119, E-1120, E-1121, K-1122, K-1123, R-1124,
V-1125, Q-1126, A-1127, D-1128, K-1129, D-1130, T-1131, A-1132,
L-1133, A-1134, K-1135, Q-1136, R-1137, E-1138, A-1139, E-1140,
T-1141, R-1142, P-1143, A-1144, T-1145, T-1146, A-1147, F-1148,
P-1149, R-1150, A-1151, R-1152, R-1153, A-1154, R-1155, R-1156,
D-1157, L-1158, P-1159, Q-1160, L-1161, Q-1162, P-1163, Q-1164,
P-1165, Q-1166, P-1167, Q-1168, P-1169, Q-1170 and/or R-1171.
[0093] App is alternatively believed to cleaved at amino acid 956
and/or amino acid 1178 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32). It will
be appreciated that standard sequence alignment techniques will
reveal the amino acids corresponding to these residues for any
other App sequence.
[0094] The invention provides a protein comprising the amino acid
sequence of App, except that one or more of amino acids Phe-956,
Asn-957, Ala-1178 & Asn-1179 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32)
is mutated. The mutation may be a deletion, an insertion,
truncation or, preferably, a substitution. The substitution is
preferably with one of the 19 other naturally-occurring amino
acids.
[0095] The invention also provides nucleic acid encoding these
mutant proteins.
[0096] The invention also provides a method for producing this
nucleic acid, comprising the steps of: (a) providing source nucleic
acid encoding App, ORF40 or NadA, and (b) performing mutagenesis
(e.g. site-directed mutagenesis) on said source nucleic acid to
provide nucleic acid encoding a mutant protein.
[0097] The invention provides mature App.
[0098] The invention also provides a protein comprising the amino
acid sequence of a processed App, wherein said processed App does
not comprise the C-terminus domain which is downstream of an
autoproteloytic cleavage site in full-length App. For example,
based on SEQ ID 32 as full-length App, the invention provides SEQ
IDs 33 to 36. C-terminus domains which may be removed during
autoproteolysis are SEQ IDs 38 and 39.
[0099] The invention also provides a protein comprising the amino
acid sequence of a processed App, wherein the C-terminus of said
processed. App is Phe-956 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32). For
example, the invention provides SEQ IDs 33 and 35. The amino acid
corresponding to Phe-956 in other App sequences can be identified
by standard sequence alignment techniques.
[0100] The invention also provides a protein comprising the amino
acid sequence of a processed App, wherein the C-terminus of said
processed App is Ala-1178 (numbered according to SEQ ID 32). For
example, the invention provides SEQ IDs 34 and 36. The amino acid
corresponding to Ala-1178 in other App sequences can be identified
by standard sequence alignment techniques.
[0101] The invention also provides a protein comprising the amino
acid sequence of a processed App, wherein said processed App does
not comprise SEQ ID 37, 38 or 39.
[0102] The invention also provides a protein comprising an amino
acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ IDs 33, 34,
35, 36, 37, 38 & 39.
[0103] The invention also provides a protein comprising an amino
acid sequence with at least p % sequence identity to one or more of
SEQ IDs 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 & 39. Depending on the
particular sequence, the value of p is preferably 50 or more (e.g.
60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 99 or more). These proteins include homologs,
orthologs, allelic variants and functional mutants. Typically, 50%
identity or more between two proteins is considered to be an
indication of functional equivalence. Identity between proteins is
preferably determined by the Smith-Waterman homology search
algorithm as implemented in the MPSRCH program (Oxford Molecular),
using an affine gap search with parameters gap open penalty=12 and
gap extension penalty=1.
[0104] The invention further provides proteins comprising a
fragment of one or more of SEQ IDs 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 & 39.
The fragments should comprise at least q consecutive amino acids
from the sequences and, depending on the particular sequence, q is
7 or more (e.g. 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80,
90, 100 or more). Preferably the fragments comprise one or more
epitopes from the sequence.
[0105] The invention also provides nucleic acid encoding these
proteins of the invention.
Alleles of NadA
[0106] The invention provides a protein comprising the amino acid
sequence of one or more of SEQ IDs 1 to 14.
[0107] The invention also provides a protein comprising an amino
acid sequence having at least x % sequence identity to one or more
of SEQ IDs 1 to 14. The value of x is at least 50% (e.g. 60%, 70%,
80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.5% or more). This includes
variants e.g. allelic variants, homologs, orthologs, paralogs,
mutants, etc.
[0108] A preferred allele of NadA for use with the present
invention is SEQ ID 3 (or SEQ ID 6).
[0109] The invention also provides a protein comprising a fragment
of one or more of SEQ IDs 1 to 14. These should comprise at least n
consecutive nucleotides from one or more of SEQ IDs 1 to 14,
wherein n is 6 or more (e.g. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 20,
25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 or
more). The fragment may comprise a sequence which is common to SEQ
IDs 1 to 14, or may comprise a sequence which is not common to SEQ
IDs 1 to 14.
[0110] Preferred fragments comprise one or more epitopes from SEQ
IDs 1 to 14. Other preferred fragments are (a) the N-terminal
leader peptides of SEQ IDs 1 to 14, (b) SEQ IDs 1 to 14, but
without k N-terminal amino acid residue(s), wherein k is 1 or more
(e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 30,
35, 40, 50 etc.), and (c) SEQ Ms 1 to 14, but without l C-terminal
amino acid residue(s), wherein l is 1 or more (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50 etc.).
Preferred fragments fall within both (b) and (c) i.e. truncation at
both C- and N-termini.
[0111] Preferred fragments within category (b) lack the N-terminal
leader peptide. For SEQ IDs 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 11 & 13 the value of
k is thus 23; for SEQ IDs 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 the value of
k is 25. The leader peptide may be replaced with the leader peptide
from another protein, by another protein (i.e. to form a fusion
protein) or by an alternative N-terminus sequence to allow
efficient expression.
[0112] Preferred fragments within category (c) lack the C-terminal
membrane anchor. The value of l is thus 54. Minor variants of this
C-terminal deletion may be used (e.g. where l is 45, 46, 47, 48,
49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65,
66).
[0113] Proteins with the N-terminus sequence MKH or MQH are
preferred to those with N-terminus sequence MSM.
[0114] The protein of the invention may include the heptad sequence
(AA.sub.1AA.sub.2AA.sub.3AA.sub.4AA.sub.5AA.sub.6AA.sub.7).sub.r
wherein: AA.sub.1 is Leu, Be, Val or Met; each of AA.sub.2 AA.sub.3
AA.sub.4 AA.sub.5 AA.sub.6 and AA.sub.7 may independently be any
amino acid; r is an integer of 1 or more (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10 etc.). Where r is 2 or more, the meaning of each AA.sub.1
AA.sub.2 AA.sub.3 AA.sub.4 AA.sub.5 AA.sub.6 and AA.sub.7 may be
the same or different in each of the r heptad repeats. The
heptad(s) can form a leucine-zipper domain.
[0115] Proteins of the invention can be prepared in many ways e.g.
by chemical synthesis (at least in part), by digesting longer
polypeptides using proteases, by translation from RNA, by
purification from cell culture (e.g. from recombinant expression),
from the organism itself (e.g. isolation from prostate tissue),
from a cell line source, etc.
[0116] Proteins of the invention can be prepared in various forms
e.g. native, fusions, glycosylated, non-glycosylated, lipidated,
non-lipidated etc.
[0117] The protein is preferably in the form of an oligomer.
[0118] Proteins of the invention may be attached or immobilised to
a solid support.
[0119] Proteins of the invention may comprise a detectable label
e.g. a radioactive label, a fluorescent label, or a biotin label.
This is particularly useful in immunoassay techniques.
[0120] Proteins of the invention are preferably in isolated or
substantially isolated form.
[0121] In general, the proteins of the invention are provided in a
non-naturally occurring environment e.g. they are separated from
their naturally-occurring environment. In certain embodiments, the
subject protein is present in a composition that is enriched for
the protein as compared to a control. As such, purified protein is
provided, whereby purified is meant that the protein is present in
a composition that is substantially free of other expressed
proteins, where by substantially free is meant that less than 90%,
usually less than 60% and more usually less than 50% of the
composition is made up of other expressed proteins.
[0122] The term "protein" refers to amino acid polymers of any
length. The polymer may be linear or branched, it may comprise
modified amino acids, and it may be interrupted by non-amino acids.
The terms also encompass an amino acid polymer that has been
modified naturally or by intervention; for example, disulfide bond
formation, glycosylation, lipidation, acetylation, phosphorylation,
or any other manipulation or modification, such as conjugation with
a labeling component. Also included within the definition are, for
example proteins containing one or more analogs of an amino acid
(including, for example, unnatural amino acids, etc.), as well as
other modifications known in the art. Proteins can occur as single
chains or associated chains.
[0123] Mutants can include amino acid substitutions, additions or
deletions. The amino acid substitutions can be conservative amino
acid substitutions or substitutions to eliminate non-essential
amino acids, such as to alter a glycosylation site, a
phosphorylation site or an acetylation site, or to minimize
misfolding by substitution or deletion of one or more cysteine
residues that are not necessary for function. Conservative amino
acid substitutions are those that preserve the general charge,
hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, and/or steric bulk of the amino acid
substituted. Variants can be designed so as to retain or have
enhanced biological activity of a particular region of the
polypeptide (e.g. a functional domain and/or, where the polypeptide
is a member of a polypeptide family, a region associated with a
consensus sequence). Selection of amino acid alterations for
production of variants can be based upon the accessibility
(interior vs. exterior) of the amino acid, the thermostability of
the variant polypeptide, desired disulfide bridges, desired metal
binding sites etc.
[0124] The invention also provides nucleic acid encoding a protein
of the invention as defined above. The invention also provides
nucleic acid comprising a fragment of at least n consecutive
nucleotides from said nucleic acid, wherein n is 10 or more (e.g.
12, 14, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 150,
200, 500 or more).
[0125] Furthermore, the invention provides nucleic acid which can
hybridise to nucleic acid encoding a protein of the invention,
preferably under "high stringency" conditions (eg. 65.degree. C. in
a 0.1.times.SSC, 0.5% SDS solution).
[0126] Nucleic acids of the invention can be used in hybridisation
reactions (e.g. Northern or Southern blots, or in nucleic acid
microarrays or `gene chips`) and amplification reactions (e.g. PCR,
SDA, SSSR, LCR, TMA, NASBA, etc.) and other nucleic acid
techniques.
[0127] Nucleic acids of the invention can be prepared in many ways
e.g. by chemical synthesis in whole or part, by digesting longer
polynucleotides using nucleases (e.g. restriction enzymes), from
genomic or cDNA libraries, from the bacterium itself, etc.
[0128] Nucleic acids of the invention can take various forms e.g.
single-stranded, double-stranded, vectors, primers, probes,
labelled, unlabelled, etc.
[0129] Nucleic acids of the invention are preferably in isolated or
substantially isolated form.
[0130] The invention includes nucleic acid comprising sequences
complementary to those described above e.g. for antisense or
probing, or for use as primers.
[0131] The term "nucleic acid" includes DNA and RNA, and also their
analogues, such as those containing modified backbones, and also
peptide nucleic acids (PNA) etc.
[0132] Nucleic acid according to the invention may be labelled e.g.
with a radioactive or fluorescent label. This is particularly
useful where the nucleic acid is to be used in nucleic acid
detection techniques e.g. where the nucleic acid is a primer or as
a probe for use in techniques such as PCR, LCR, TMA, NASBA,
etc.
[0133] The invention also provides vectors comprising nucleotide
sequences of the invention (e.g. cloning or expression vectors,
such as those suitable for nucleic acid immunisation) and host
cells transformed with such vectors.
Immunisation
[0134] The invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising
(a) a Neisserial NadA protein and/or (b) nucleic acid encoding a
NadA protein.
[0135] The invention also provides a method for raising an antibody
response in a mammal, comprising administering an immunogenic
composition of the invention to the mammal. The antibody response
is preferably a protective antibody response. The protective
antibody preferably blocks the attachment of NadA and/or App to
epithelial cells.
[0136] The invention also provides a method for protecting a mammal
against a Neisserial infection, comprising administering to the
mammal an immunogenic composition of the invention.
[0137] The invention also provides Neisserial NadA protein for use
as a medicament.
[0138] The invention also provides the use of a NadA protein in the
manufacture of a medicament for preventing Neisserial infection in
a mammal
[0139] The invention also provides the use of nucleic acid encoding
a NadA protein in the manufacture of a medicament for preventing
Neisserial infection in a mammal.
[0140] The mammal is preferably a human. The human may be an adult
or, preferably, a child.
[0141] The NadA protein is preferably a N. meningitidis NadA. It
preferably comprises the amino acid sequence of one or more of SEQ
IDs 1 to 14, or an amino acid sequence having sequence identity
thereto or comprising a fragment thereof (see above). The NadA
protein is preferably in the form of an oligomer (e.g. a dimer,
trimer, tetramer or higher). Within SEQ IDs 1 to 14, SEQ IDs 1 to
12 are preferred, as antibodies against these NadA proteins are
bactericidal across the various hypervirulent alleles. Where an
immune response against a non-hypervirulent NadA.sup.+ strain is
desired, however, SEQ IDs 13 & 14 are preferred. Of course,
NadA mixtures are also possible, particularly mixtures containing
more than one NadA allele.
[0142] Immunogenic compositions of the invention may be used
therapeutically (i.e. to treat an existing infection) or
prophylactically (i.e. to prevent future infection).
[0143] The uses and methods of the invention are particularly
useful for treating/protecting against infections of Neisseria
meningitidis, including serogroups A, B, and C. They are
particularly useful against strains of N. meningitidis from
hypervirulent lineages ET-5, EY-37 and cluster A4.
[0144] The uses and methods are particularly useful for
preventing/treating diseases including, but not limited to,
meningitis (particularly bacterial meningitis) and bacteremia.
[0145] Efficacy of therapeutic treatment can be tested by
monitoring Neisserial infection after administration of the
composition of the invention. Efficacy of prophylactic treatment
can be tested by monitoring immune responses against NadA after
administration of the composition.
[0146] The composition of the invention may additionally comprise
an antigen which, when administered to a mammal, elicits an immune
response which is protective against a lineage III strain of N.
meningitidis.
[0147] Compositions of the invention will generally be administered
directly to a patient. Direct delivery may be accomplished by
parenteral injection (e.g. subcutaneously, intraperitoneally,
intravenously, intramuscularly, or to the interstitial space of a
tissue), or by rectal, oral, vaginal, topical, transdermal,
intranasal, ocular, aural, or pulmonary administration.
[0148] The invention may be used to elicit systemic and/or mucosal
immunity.
[0149] Dosage treatment can be a single dose schedule or a multiple
dose schedule.
[0150] The immunogenic composition of the invention will generally
include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, which can be any
substance that does not itself induce the production of antibodies
harmful to the patient receiving the composition, and which can be
administered without undue toxicity. Suitable carriers can be
large, slowly-metabolised macromolecules such as proteins,
polysaccharides, polylactic acids, polyglycolic acids, polymeric
amino acids, amino acid copolymers, and inactive virus particles.
Such carriers are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can include liquids such as
water, saline, glycerol and ethanol. Auxiliary substances, such as
wetting or emulsifying agents, pH buffering substances, and the
like, can also be present in such vehicles. Liposomes are suitable
carriers. A thorough discussion of pharmaceutical carriers is
available in Gennaro (2000) Remington: The Science and Practice of
Pharmacy. 20th edition, ISBN: 0683306472.
[0151] Neisserial infections affect various areas of the body and
so the compositions of the invention may be prepared in various
forms. For example, the compositions may be prepared as
injectables, either as liquid solutions or suspensions. Solid forms
suitable for solution in, or suspension in, liquid vehicles prior
to injection can also be prepared. The composition may be prepared
for topical administration e.g. as an ointment, cream or powder.
The composition be prepared for oral administration e.g. as a
tablet or capsule, or as a syrup (optionally flavoured). The
composition may be prepared for pulmonary administration e.g. as an
inhaler, using a fine powder or a spray. The composition may be
prepared as a suppository or pessary. The composition may be
prepared for nasal, aural or ocular administration e.g. as
drops.
[0152] The composition is preferably sterile. It is preferably
pyrogen-free. It is preferably buffered e.g. at between pH 6 and pH
8, generally around pH 7.
[0153] Immunogenic compositions comprise an immunologically
effective amount of immunogen, as well as any other of other
specified components, as needed. By `immunologically effective
amount`, it is meant that the administration of that amount to an
individual, either in a single dose or as part of a series, is
effective for treatment or prevention. This amount varies depending
upon the health and physical condition of the individual to be
treated, age, the taxonomic group of individual to be treated (e.g.
non-human primate, primate, etc.), the capacity of the individual's
immune system to synthesise antibodies, the degree of protection
desired, the formulation of the vaccine, the treating doctor's
assessment of the medical situation, and other relevant factors. It
is expected that the amount will fall in a relatively broad range
that can be determined through routine trials. Dosage treatment may
be a single dose schedule or a multiple dose schedule (e.g.
including booster doses). The composition may be administered in
conjunction with other immunoregulatory agents.
[0154] The immunogenic composition may include an adjuvant.
Preferred adjuvants to enhance effectiveness of the composition
include, but are not limited to: (A) aluminium compounds (e.g. an
aluminium hydroxide such as oxyhydroxide, or an aluminium phosphate
such as hydroxyphosphate or orthophosphate, aluminium sulphate
etc.), or mixtures of different aluminium compounds, with the
compounds taking any suitable form (e.g. gel, crystalline,
amorphous etc.), and with adsorption being preferred; (B) MF59 (5%
Squalene, 0.5% Tween 80, and 0.5% Span 85, formulated into
submicron particles using a microfluidizer); (C) liposomes; (D)
ISCOMs, which may be devoid of additional detergent; (E) SAF,
containing 10% Squalane, 0.4% Tween 80, 5% pluronic-block polymer
L121, and thr-MDP, either microfluidized into a submicron emulsion
or vortexed to generate a larger particle size emulsion; (F)
Ribi.TM. adjuvant system (RAS), (Ribi Immunochem) containing 2%
Squalene, 0.2% Tween 80, and one or more bacterial cell wall
components from the group consisting of monophosphorylipid A (MPL),
trehalose dimycolate (TDM), and cell wall skeleton (CWS),
preferably MPL+CWS (Detox.TM.); (G) saponin adjuvants, such as
QuilA or QS21, also known as Stimulon.TM.; (H) chitosan; (I)
complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and incomplete Freund's adjuvant
(IFA); (J) cytokines, such as interleukins (e.g. IL-1, IL-2, IL-4,
IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-12, etc.), interferons (e.g.
interferon-.gamma.), macrophage colony stimulating factor, tumor
necrosis factor, etc.; (K) microparticles (i.e. a particle of
.about.100 nm to .about.150 .mu.m in diameter, more preferably
.about.200 nm to .about.30 .mu.m in diameter, and most preferably
.about.500 nm to .about.10 .mu.m in diameter) formed from materials
that are biodegradable and non-toxic (e.g. a poly(.alpha.-hydroxy
acid), a polyhydroxybutyric acid, a polyorthoester, a
polyanhydride, a polycaprolactone etc.); (L) monophosphoryl lipid A
(MPL) or 3-O-deacylated MPL (3dMPL); (M) combinations of 3dMPL
with, for example, QS21 and/or oil-in-water emulsions; (N)
oligonucleotides comprising CpG motifs i.e. containing at least one
CG dinucleotide, with 5-methylcytosine optionally being used in
place of cytosine; (O) a polyoxyethylene ether or a polyoxyethylene
ester; (P) a polyoxyethylene sorbitan ester surfactant in
combination with an octoxynol or a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether or
ester surfactant in combination with at least one additional
non-ionic surfactant such as an octoxynol; (Q) an immunostimulatory
oligonucleotide (e.g. a CpG oligonucleotide) and a saponin; (R) an
immunostimulant and a particle of metal salt; (S) a saponin and an
oil-in-water emulsion; (T) a saponin (e.g. QS21)+3dMPL+IL-12
(optionally+a sterol); (U) E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin ("LT"),
or detoxified mutants thereof, such as the K63 or R72 mutants; (V)
cholera toxin ("CT"), or detoxified mutants thereof; (W)
microparticles (i.e. a particle of .about.100 nm to .about.150
.mu.m in diameter, more preferably .about.200 nm to .about.30 .mu.m
in diameter, and most preferably .about.500 nm to .about.10 .mu.m
in diameter) formed from materials that are biodegradable and
non-toxic (e.g. a poly(.alpha.-hydroxy acid) such as
poly(lactide-co-glycolide), a polyhydroxybutyric acid, a
polyorthoester, a polyanhydride, a polycaprolactone etc.); and (X)
other substances that act as immunostimulating agents to enhance
the effectiveness of the composition. Aluminium salts (aluminium
phosphates and particularly hydroxyphosphates, and/or hydroxides
and particularly oxyhydroxide) and MF59 are preferred adjuvants for
parenteral immunisation. Toxin mutants are preferred mucosal
adjuvants.
[0155] Muramyl peptides include
N-acetyl-muramyl-L-threonyl-D-isoglutamine (thr-MDP),
N-acetyl-normuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (nor-MDP),
N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl-L-alanine-2-(1'-2'-dipalmitoyl-s-
n-glycero-3-hydroxyphosphoryloxy)-ethylamine MTP-PE), etc.
[0156] Compositions of the invention may comprise antigens (e.g.
protective antigens against N. meningitidis or against other
organisms) in addition to NadA e.g. DTP antigens, Hib antigen
etc.
[0157] Immunogenic compositions of the invention may be used
therapeutically (i.e. to treat an existing infection) or
prophylactically (i.e. to prevent future infection). Therapeutic
immunisation is particularly useful for treating Candida infection
in immunocompromised subjects.
[0158] As an alternative to using proteins antigens in the
immunogenic compositions of the invention, nucleic acid (preferably
DNA e.g. in the form of a plasmid) encoding the antigen may be
used.
Disclaimers
[0159] The invention preferably excludes: (a) amino acid and
nucleic acid sequences available in public sequence databases (e.g.
GenBank or GENESEQ) prior to 26 Jul. 2002 and, more preferably,
prior to 27 Jul. 2001; (b) amino acid and nucleic acid sequences
disclosed in patent applications having a filing date or, where
applicable, a priority date prior to 26 Jul. 2002 and, more
preferably, prior to 27 Jul. 2001. In particular, SEQ ID entries in
the following patent applications may be excluded: WO99/24578;
WO99/36544; WO99/57280; WO00/22430; WO00/66741; WO00/66791;
WO00/71574; WO00/71725; WO01/04316; WO01/31019; WO01/37863;
WO01/38350; WO01/52885; WO01/64920; WO01/64922.
DEFINITIONS
[0160] The term "comprising" means "including" as well as
"consisting" e.g. a composition "comprising" X may consist
exclusively of X or may include something additional e.g. X+Y.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0161] FIGS. 1 to 3 show expression data for (1) ORF40 (2) App (3)
NadA.
[0162] FIGS. 4 to 6 show FACS analysis of proteins involved in
adhesion to human cells. In FIGS. 4 and 5 (FIG. 6), the data are
for, from left to right, ORF40 (.tangle-solidup.), App ( ), NadA
(.diamond-solid.) and GNA2132 (.box-solid.).
[0163] FIGS. 7 and 8 show homologies of (7) ORF40 and (8) App.
[0164] FIG. 9 shows an alignment of NadA alleles, and FIG. 10 shows
the relationship of alleles 1 to 3.
[0165] FIG. 11 shows predicted secondary structure for NadA.
[0166] FIG. 12 shows analysis of sequences upstream and downstream
of NadA.
[0167] FIG. 13 shows PCR analysis of NadA expression in different
strains of N. meningitidis.
[0168] FIG. 14 shows immunoblot analysis of NadA expression in
different strains of N. meningitidis.
[0169] FIG. 15 shows variation of NadA expression with culture
time.
[0170] FIG. 16 shows NadA FACS of isogenic capsulated and
non-capsulated N. meningitidis cells.
[0171] FIG. 17 shows immunofluorescence results obtained using
anti-NadA against Chang cells (17A to 17C) or HeLa cells (17D).
[0172] FIG. 18 shows immunofluorescence results obtained using
anti-NadA against Chang cells after incubation at (A) 37.degree. C.
or (B) 4.degree. C.
[0173] FIG. 19 shows immunofluorescence results for Chang cells
treated with saponin.
[0174] FIG. 20 shows immunofluorescence results obtained using
monocytes.
[0175] FIG. 21 shows immunofluorescence results obtained using
macrophages.
[0176] FIG. 22 shows IL-.alpha. secretion by monocytes in response
to NadA treatment.
[0177] FIG. 23 shows the effect of anti-CD14 on IL-.alpha.
secretion by monocytes.
[0178] FIG. 24 shows immunofluorescence results obtained using
anti-NadA against E. coli transformed to express NadA.
[0179] FIG. 25 shows staining of the transformed E. coli using (A)
anti-NadA (B) anti-E. coli or (C) both.
[0180] FIG. 26 is a schematic representation of App features. The
N-terminal leader peptide, the passenger domain and the C-terminal
.beta.-domain are indicated. The positions of the serine protease
active site, the ATP/GTP binding site, the two Arginine-rich sites
and the Proline-rich region are shown. In BOX 1, cleavage sites are
shown. In BOX 2 a comparison of known proteolytic sites of
different autotransporters is shown and a consensus signature is
derived. Arrows identify the cleavages; X=any amino acid;
hyd=hydrophobic residues; (A,S)=Alanine or Serine.
[0181] FIG. 27 is a schematic representation of the constructs used
for studying App.
[0182] FIG. 28 shows a western blot of outer membrane and
extracellular proteins in E. coli.
[0183] FIG. 29 shows FACS analysis of outer membrane and
extracellular proteins in E. coli.
[0184] FIG. 30 shows immunofluorescence of outer membrane and
extracellular proteins in E. coli.
[0185] FIG. 31 shows total E. coli proteins analysed by
SDS-PAGE.
[0186] FIG. 32 shows an immunoblot of crude precipitated culture
supernatants using mouse antiserum against App-his.
[0187] FIG. 33 shows FACS adhesion data using rabbit antiserum
against E. coli. Percentages of cells positive to adhesion are
shown near the fluorescence profiles.
[0188] FIG. 34 shows immunofluorescence microscopy data showing
bacterial adherence and aggregation.
[0189] FIG. 35 shows concentration-dependent binding of App-His
(.diamond-solid.), App.alpha.-His (.box-solid.) and NMB2132
(.tangle-solidup.) expressed as net Mean Fluorescence Intensity
(MFI).
[0190] FIG. 36 shows the effect on binding of App-His (100
.mu.g/ml) of pre-incubation with pronase (left-hand columns) or
phospholipase A2 (right-hand columns) with increasing concentration
of enzyme. Pronase was tested at 0, 250, 500, 1000 .mu.g/ml;
phosholipase A2 was tested at 0, 50, 200, 800 .mu.g/ml.
[0191] FIG. 37 is a comparison of cellular binding specificity of
App-His protein at 100, 25 or 6.25 .mu.g/ml against various
different cells.
[0192] FIG. 38 shows association of wild-type or App-knockout N.
meningitidis MC58 bacteria.
[0193] FIG. 39 shows a western blot analysis of total lysates from
N. meningitidis MC58 harvested at 0.5 or 0.8 OD.sub.620 nm. Lanes 1
& 3 show wild-type MC58 and lanes 2 & 4 show the App
knockout.
[0194] FIG. 40 shows a western blot analysis of supernatants in
parallel to FIG. 39.
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
NadA Homology
[0195] NadA shows homology to (a) YadA of enteropathogenic
Yersinia, a non-pilus associated adhesin implicated in virulence
[Cornelis (1998) Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 62:1315-1352.] and (b)
UspA2 of Moraxella catarrhalis, a protein involved in serum
resistance and a protective antigen [Chen et al. (1999) Infect.
Immun. 67:1310-1316.]. Sequence similarity is mainly clustered in
the carboxyl terminal region (56-63% identity in the last 70 amino
acids). Outside this region the level of identity drops to
23-25%.
[0196] YadA and UspA2 have been identified as adhesins [Hoiczyk et
al. (2000) EMBO J 19:5989-5999]. Both proteins form very stable and
difficult-to-dissociate high molecular weight oligomers (150-200
kDa) anchored to the outer membrane. NadA has also been found to
form very stable high molecular weight aggregates on the outer
membrane of meningococcus.
[0197] The amino acid sequence of NadA was analysed [Nielsen et al.
(1997) Protein Engineering 10:1-6; Levin & Garner (1988)
Biochim. Biophys. Acta 955:283-295; Berger et al. (1995) PNAS USA
92:8259-8263; Bornberg-Bauer et al. (1998) Nucleic Acids Res.
26:2740-2746]. Secondary structure analysis is shown in FIG. 11.
The globular N-terminus and amphipathic C-terminus are indicated,
as are the positions of the leader peptide (LP) and a membrane
anchor. The carboxyl-terminal region (aa 310-362) has a predicted
amphipatic .beta.-structure (.beta.-strands shown in black) and a
terminal aromatic amino acid, which are typical features of outer
membrane anchoring domains. The amino terminal region (aa 23-90)
has no defined secondary structure, but the rest of the protein has
mainly .alpha.-helix propensity (84.6%). Within this region,
residues 90-146 and 183-288 have high probability of forming coiled
coils. In addition, residues 122-143 contain four leucine residues
in the "a" positions of the heptad repeats (L-x(6)-L-x(6)-L-x(6)-L)
that may form a leucine zipper domain ( ). It is known that both
coiled coils and leucine zipper sequences are involved in
dimerization and may mediate oligomerisation of monomers via
association of two or more alpha helices.
[0198] Even though primary structure similarity between NadA, YadA
and UspA2 is clustered at the C-terminus, therefore, the overall
similarity between the three proteins is conserved at secondary
structure level. Putative leucine zippers are present in both NadA
and UspA2. NadA, YadA and UspA2 have a carboxyl terminal membrane
anchor made by four amphipathic .beta.-strands and an internal
.alpha.-helical region with propensity to form coiled-coils. In
YadA and UspA2 these .alpha.-helices have been shown to form
coiled-coils regions, which mediate oligomerisation of monomers
[Hoiczyk et al. (2000) EMBO J 19:5989-5999; Cope et al. (1999) J.
Bacteriol. 181:4026-4034].
[0199] The absence of cysteine residues in the mature forms of NadA
is another feature shared with its homologues.
The Genomic Environment of NadA
[0200] The 1086 bp nadA coding region is flanked at the 3' end by a
terminator sequence while at the 5' end (FIG. 12A) it shows a
putative ribosome-binding site (RBS; 5'-AAGG-3') and a putative
promoter region located 8 and 47 base pairs, respectively, upstream
the ATG start codon.
[0201] 130 by upstream the coding region are nine repeats of the
tetranucleotide TAAA (shaded black in FIG. 12A), preceded by a
second putative promoter with -10 and -35 regions. Because of the
presence of the TAAA repeats, the gene had been listed as one of
those that may undergo phase variation, even though the repeats are
not in the coding region [Tettelin et al.]. The homologous gene
UspA2 has a tetranucleotide repeat (AGAT) located in the same
position as in nadA, which varies in different strains [Cope et al.
(1999) J. Bacteriol. 181:4026-4034].
[0202] The G+C content of the nadA gene and its upstream region is
lower than average (45% against an average of the rest of the
genome, 51.5%), suggesting acquisition of the gene by horizontal
transfer.
[0203] The NadA gene and its upstream region are not present in the
published sequence of the genome of serogroup A, strain Z2491
[Parkhill et al. (2000) Nature 404:502-506]. In the MenA genome, a
short sequence of 16 nucleotides with no homologies in the
database, replaces the nadA gene (FIG. 12B), whereas the upstream
and downstream genes (nmb1993 and nmb1995) are well conserved (91%
and 97% identity). Analysis of the sequences immediately adjacent
to the nadA region and absent in the Z2491 serogroup A strain shows
that the segment is flanked by the TCAGAC direct repeats. This may
indicate a mechanism of recombination. In the A strain the stretch
of 16 nucleotides has a disrupted pair of TCAGAC repeats flanking
it.
Variation in NadA Genotype
[0204] Given the difference in nadA expression between serotypes A
and B, 175 different strains of N. meningitidis were chosen for
analysis--150 isolates representative of the five
disease-associated serogroups (A, B, C, Y and W-135) and 25 strains
isolated from healthy carriers. The analysis also included one
strain each of N. gonorrhoeae, N. cinerea and N. lactamica.
[0205] Bacteria were grown overnight at 37.degree. C. in a
humidified atmosphere of 5% CO.sub.2 in air on gonococcus (GC)
medium agar (Difco) supplemented with Kellogg's supplement solution
(0.22 M D-glucose, 0.03 M L-glutamine, 0.001 M ferric nitrate, and
0.02 M cocarboxylase) (Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.)
as previously described [Knapp et al. (1988) Antimicrob. Agents
Chemother. 32:765-767; Roberts et al. (1977) J. Bacteriol.
131:557-563]. One loopful of bacteria was dissolved in 500 .mu.l of
PBS and chromosomal DNA was prepared as previously described
[Tinsley et al. (1996) PNAS USA 93:11109-11114].
[0206] The bacteria were screened by PCR and/or dot blot
hybridization.
[0207] PCR amplification of the nadA genes was performed on 10 ng
of chromosomal DNA using primers, mapping 350 nt upstream and
downstream from the coding region (forward primer: SEQ ID 16;
reverse primer: SEQ ID 17), and Platinum Hifi Taq Polymerase
(GIBCO). PCR conditions were: 30 cycles of denaturation at
95.degree. C. for 30 s, annealing at 60.degree. C. for 30 s, and
extension at 68.degree. C. for 1 min. PCR products were analysed on
1% agarose gel and the sizes were determined using a molecular
weight marker 1 Kb Plus DNA Ladder (GIBCO). The amplified fragments
were purified on a Qiaquick column (Qiagen) and then automated
cyclo-sequenced (Applied Biosystems model 377) by primer walking on
both strands of the amplified fragment.
[0208] For dot blotting, the probe used was the whole nadA gene, as
amplified from 2996 strain and labelled with digoxigenin using the
Roche DIG High-Prime DNA Labelling and Detection Kit. 10 .mu.l
aliquot of cell suspension of each strain were boiled for 10 min.
and spotted on nylon membrane (Boehringer). The membranes underwent
cross-linking of DNA by 2' exposure to UV light and other standard
procedures for preparation and signal detection as reported by the
manufacturer.
[0209] The nadA gene was absent in N. gonorrhoeae and in the
commensal species N. lactamica and N. cinerea. In N. meningtidis,
however, 47% of isolates were positive for its presence.
[0210] PCR generated (FIG. 13) a product of 1800 by in NadA.sup.+
strains MC58 (lane 1), 90/18311 (lane 2) and 2996 (lane 3). It gave
a product of 400 by in NadA.sup.- strain Z2491 and NG3/88 (lane 5).
Some strains (e.g. 93/4286, C4678, 2022, ISS1113) gave a PCR
product of 2500 by (lane 4: L93/4286).
[0211] The presence/absence of NadA in N. meningitidis was
correlated with strain lineage. Strains isolated from invasive
meningococcal disease have been classified by multilocus enzyme
electrophoresis (MLEE) into a small number of hypervirulent
lineages: Electrophoretic Types ET37, ET5, cluster A4, lineage III,
subgroups I, III and IV-1 [Achtman (1995) Global epidemiology of
meningococcal disease. In Meningococcal disease (Cartwight, ed).
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, England. 159-175; Caugant (1998)
APMIS 106:505-25]. Recently, a sequence-based classification,
multilocus sequence typing (MLST), has been introduced, which
classifies the above strains into Sequence Types ST11, ST32, ST8,
ST41, ST1, ST5, ST4, respectively [Maiden et al. (1998) PNAS USA
95:3140-3145]. Strains isolated from healthy carriers fall into
many different ET and ST types.
[0212] The nadA gene was present in 51 out of 53 strains (96%) of
the hypervirulent lineages ET-5, ET-37 and cluster A4, whereas it
was absent in all the tested lineage III strains. Seven of the 25
carrier strains were positive. Most of the serogroup C strains
tested were positive even if not belonging to hyper-virulent
lineages. The same was true for the serogroup B strains with
serotype 2a and 2b. For serogroup A, one strain belonging to
subgroup III was positive whereas the other two strains belonging
to subgroup IV-1 were negative.
[0213] Lineage III has only recently been introduced in Europe and
USA and the geographic segregation in New Zealand for many years
could have impaired its ability to acquire novel genes. For
instance, mutations may have occurred in the surrounding
chromosomal regions preventing Lineage III from further
recombination events. Another possible explanation is that ET-5,
ET-37 and Cluster A4 strains need nadA to achieve peak fitness
whereas Lineage III isolates cannot derive any significant benefit
from nadA insertion, thus undergoing a negative selection.
[0214] NadA is thus over-represented in three hypervirulent N.
meningitidis lineages. It appears to be a foreign gene present in a
subset of hypervirulent strains.
[0215] NadA Alleles
[0216] As PCR products were differently sized (FIG. 13) and most of
the NadA.sup.+ strains could be grouped in three different sizes,
genes were sequenced for 36 strains representative of each size: 26
positive strains, 4 strains with a long PCR product, and 6
NadA.sup.- strains.
[0217] In the negative strains, a 16 bp sequence was found which
was identical to the sequence present in the published serogroup A
genome sequence.
[0218] Analysis of the sequence of the four long PCR product
strains revealed an interruption by a single copy of IS1301,
interrupting the protein after 162 amino acids with a stop codon.
The insertion site was identical in all four strains, but the
orientation of IS1301 differed, indicating independent events. The
target consensus for IS1301, 5'-AYTAG-3' was found within the NadA
gene at nucleotide 472, generated by, an A->G mutation, and was
accompanied by a TA duplication.
[0219] In nadA.sup.+ strains, gene size ranged from 1086 to 1215
bp, with consequent variation of the amino acid sequences of the
encoded proteins from 362 to 405 amino acids. It was possible to
cluster 22 of the 26 NadA genes into three well-defined alleles
(FIGS. 9 & 10; Table I). The sequence of the gene within each
allele is identical and overall identity between the alleles ranges
from 96% to 99%. This level of conservation is surprising and
suggests weak selective pressure and/or a very recent acquisition
of the nadA gene. The latter possibility is consistent with the low
G+C content of the genome in this region (see above).
TABLE-US-00001 Allele Found in strains SEQ IDs 1 MC58, BZ83, BZ169,
NM066, NM119, CU385, 1, 4 ISS832, ISS1071, ISS1104 2 90/18311,
NGP165, PMC8, M986, ISS838 and 2, 5 961-5945 3 C11, 973-1720,
ISS759, F6124, 2996, 8047, NMB 3, 6
[0220] The sequences shown in FIG. 9A assume that the N-terminus
amino acid is the first Met in the open reading frame (SEQ IDs 4 to
6), but the second Met (residue 3 in SEQ IDs 4 to 6) has a
better-positioned Shine-Dalgarno motif (FIG. 9B). Sequences
starting from the second Met codon are thus preferred (SEQ IDs 1 to
3).
Allele 1 codes for a protein of 362 amino acids (SEQ ID 1) and
includes strain MC58 and all the ET-5 positive strains sequenced.
The other five strains belonging to allele 1 were very recent
isolates and they have not been ET-typed yet, although serotype and
serosubtype classification (B:15:P1.7 and B:4:P1.15) of these
strains suggests affiliation of these strains to the ET-5 complex.
Allele 2 codes for a protein of 398 amino acids (SEQ ID 2)
resulting from the addition of 2 aa after residue 268 (numbering
according to SEQ ID 1), addition of 41 aa after residue 271, and
deletion of 7 aa after residue 122, resulting in the deletion of
the first heptad repeat of the leucine zipper domain. Leucine
residues at a fixed spacing of seven residues commonly identify
leucine zippers. One leucine in the repeats has frequently been
replaced mostly by Met, Val or Ile. In this case allele 2 could use
the Ile upstream or downstream to form the leucine zipper motif.
Allele 3 codes for a protein of 405 amino acids (SEQ ID 3) and,
like allele 2, contains 43 extra amino acids at residues 268 and
271 but differs from allele 2 by not having the 7aa deletion after
residue 122. Allele 3 is found in serogroup A, B and C strains.
[0221] The remaining 4/26 positive strains (ISS1024, ISS759,
973-1720, 95330; marked with * in Table 1) contain minor variants
of alleles 1 to 3: [0222] Serogroup C strain ISS1024 has a variant
of allele 2 with a single heptad repeat deletion at residues
229-235 (SEQ IDs 7/8). This sequence was originally classified as a
fourth allele but has been re-classified as a variant of allele 2.
Allele 2 is thus found in all ET-37 strains, one strain of cluster
A4 and three additional non-ET-typed serogroup C strains. [0223]
Serogroup C strains ISS759 and 973-1720 both contain a variant of
allele 3 with a single amino acid mutation in the leader peptide
(SEQ IDs 9/10) resulting from a single nucleotide mutation. Among
all allele 3 strains, only 973-1720 belongs to a hypervirulent
strain (cluster A4). [0224] Serogroup B strain 95330 contains a
recombinant (chimera) of alleles 1 and 2 (SEQ IDs 11/12), with nadA
being a fusion between the N-terminal portion of allele 2 and the
C-terminal segment of allele 1. The putative site of recombination
is located approximately between residues 141 and 265 of the
protein.
[0225] All insertions and deletions happen in the coiled-coil
region and involve 7 or 41 amino acids which, representing 2 or 6
turns of the .alpha.-helix, allows for variations in length of the
coiled coil region without disturbing the overall structure.
Furthermore, the deletion in ISS1024 results in the loss of the
first heptad repeat of the leucine zipper domain but does not
destroy the domain because leucine residues at a fixed spacing of
seven residues can be replaced mostly by Met, Val or Ile. In this
case allele 2 could use the Ile upstream or downstream to form the
leucine zipper motif (FIG. 11).
[0226] Any of these various NadA sequences and alleles can be used
in accordance with the invention.
[0227] When sequence analysis was extended to the putative promoter
and terminator regions (50 bp upstream, 350 bp downstream),
variations were found only in the in the 5' region. Three Italian
strains (ISS1071, ISS832 and ISS1104) differed for a single base
mutation while in strain 961-5945 there was a 7 base differences
(indicated with * in FIG. 10). Variations were also found in the 5'
regions where the TAAA tetranucleotide was repeated from 4 to 12
times in different strains (Table 1). The number of repeats was
variable also within each allele (Table 1).
[0228] Further work was performed on carrier strains isolated from
healthy individuals by oro-pharyngeal swab. Some strains, even if
described as carriers, belong to hypervirulent clusters, and NadA
was found in all such carrier strains as described above (i.e.
allele 1 in the ET-5 strains and allele 2 in the ET-37
strains).
[0229] NadA was also found in five carrier strains (NGE28, 65/96,
149/96, 16269, 16282) which do not belong to a hypervirulent
cluster. These five strains shared a sequence (SEQ IDs 13 & 14)
which was not found in strains isolated from patients. This allele
is referred to as `allele C` (carrier).
[0230] An alignment of allele C with alleles 1 to 3 is shown in
FIG. 9C. Disruption in the coiled-coil segments of the protein is
evident.
[0231] Unlike alleles 1 to 3, allele C protein does not readily
form a high molecular aggregate when expressed in E. coli. Like
alleles 1 to 3, however, allele C is exposed on the surface of N.
meningitidis, because it is a target for bactericidal antibody
raised against itself. However, these antibodies are not
bactericidal against strains carrying alleles 1 to 3; similarly,
antibodies raised against alleles 1 to 3 are not bactericidal
against allele C strains.
NadA Oligomers on the Cell Surface
[0232] WO01/64922 reports that NadA forms oligomeric structures. To
study NadA oligomers in more detail, whole cell lysates of N.
meningitidis were probed by Western blot.
[0233] Bacterial colonies [strains MC58 (allele 1), 90/18311
(allele 2), 2996 (allele 3), L93/4286 (IS1301 insertion) and NG3/88
(nadA.sup.-)] were grown to stationary phase in GC broth
supplemented with 0.3% glucose. Samples were taken at different
times, pelleted by centrifugation at 3000.times.g for 10 min, and
resuspended in PBS and thawed/frozen up to bacterial lysis. Equal
amounts of proteins were subjected to SDS-PAGE on 12.5%
polyacrylamide gels and electrotransferred onto nitrocellulose
membranes.
[0234] To prepare anti-NadA polyclonal serum, recombinant NadA was
expressed and purified. Sequences encoding the three nadA alleles
(allele 1: aa 24-362; allele 2: aa 24-343; allele 3: aa 24-350),
were amplified by PCR on chromosomal DNA and cloned into pET21b+
vector (Novagen). The plasmids were transformed in E. coli BL21
(DE3) to express the proteins as C-terminal histidine fusions.
Protein expression was induced at 30.degree. C. by adding 1 mM IPTG
at OD.sub.600 nm 0.3 and growing the bacteria for an additional 3
h; expression was evaluated by SDS-PAGE. Recombinant fusion
proteins were purified by affinity chromatography on
Ni.sup.2+-conjugated chelating fast-flow Sepharose 4B resin. 20
.mu.g of purified protein was used to immunise six-week-old CD1
female mice (4 to 6 per group). Proteins were given
intraperitoneally, with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) for the
first dose and incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) for the second
(day 21) and third (day 35) booster doses. Bleed out samples were
taken on day 49 and used for the serological analysis.
[0235] The blots showed a high molecular weight reactive band in
strains MC58 (FIG. 14, lane 1), 90/18311 (lane 2) and 2996 (lane
3). The band was absent in strain NG3/88 (lane 5). Boiling of the
sample buffer up to 40 minutes did not change the pattern. The
different size of the proteins was consistent with the size of the
alleles. Given the expected size ranging from 35 to 40 kDa of
monomeric proteins, the high MW of the observed band could be
explained by the presence of an oligomeric form of NadA. This
possibility is supported by the fact that in a strain containing
the IS1301 insertion, coding for a shorter protein of 162 amino
acids and lacking most of the coiled-coil region, the high MW
reactive band was absent and replaced by a band of 14.5 kDa (FIG.
14, lane 4), consistent with the predicted molecular weight of the
processed monomeric protein.
[0236] Although the oligomeric protein was found in all strains
containing a functional gene, expression levels varied from strain
to strain (Table I). Moreover, the amount of NadA protein varied
within the same strain during growth.
[0237] Four different strains (MC58, 2996, C11, F6124), chosen as
representative of diverse overall NadA expression level, were
followed during growth up to stationary phase. FIG. 15 shows growth
of two of the tested strains (15A: MC58, with low NadA expression;
15B: 2996, with high NadA expression), with the curve showing
OD.sub.600. Western blots of samples taken at each point of the
OD.sub.600 growth curve showed that the NadA band was barely
visible at the beginning of the growth and became more intense
during growth, up to its maximum, at stationary phase. All strains
analysed showed the same growth-phase dependent behaviour.
[0238] High MW NadA was also seen in western blots of outer
membrane vesicles, consistent with NadA being anchored to the outer
membrane.
[0239] Similarly, FACS analysis on live bacteria during log-phase
growth showed that NadA was available for antibody binding on the
surface of the bacteria. FACS intensity in a strain with a
poylsaccharide capsule (strain NMB) was reduced 1 log in comparison
to an isogenic non-encapsulated mutant strain (M7), but the protein
was surface-exposed and available for binding in both strains (FIG.
16).
[0240] NadA forms surface-exposed oligomers, which are stable to
heat, SDS and reduction with .beta.-mercaptoethanol. As the mature
form of the lacks cysteine residues, disulphide bond formation
cannot be involved in this phenomenon; rather this is consistent
with the predicted coiled-coil structure and the presence of
leucine zipper motifs that might mediate intermolecular
interactions between monomers [Lupas (1996) Trends Biochenz. Sci.
21:375-382; O'Shea et al. (1991) Science 254:539-544]. The size of
the oligomers is approximately 170 kDa, suggesting a tetrameric
structure [WO01/64922]. However, a rigid coiled-coil structure is
likely to have an anomalous migration is SDS PAGE and therefore the
170 kDa form may be a trimer.
Protective Immunogenicity
[0241] Polyclonal anti-NadA serum was tested for bactericidal
activity as previously described [Pizza et al. (2000); Peeters et
al. (1999) Vaccine 17:2702-2712], with pooled baby rabbit serum
(CedarLane) used as complement source. Serum bactericidal titer,
was defined as the serum dilution resulting in a 50% decrease in
colony forming units (CFU) per ml after 60 minutes incubation of
bacteria in the reaction mixture, compared to control CFU per ml at
time 0. Typically, bacteria incubated with the negative control
antibody in the presence of complement showed a 150 to 200%
increase in CFU/ml during the 60 min. of incubation.
[0242] Results were as follows:
TABLE-US-00002 Strain NadA expression Allele Bactericidal titre
2996 +++ 3 32768 C11 +++ 3 16384 F6124 + 3 4096 MC58 + 1 8192 BZ232
- - <4 NGH38 - - <4
[0243] As shown, the serum induced complement-mediated killing of
all strains that have the nadA gene, and was inactive against the
strains that do not have the gene. However, bactericidal titres
varied between strains. Titres were higher against strains
expressing higher amounts of protein. This result was confirmed
when titres were determined in the early and late phase of growth
(FIG. 15).
[0244] To check whether the differences in the bactericidal
activity were due to different allele sequences, immune sera,
raised against the three NadA types, were produced and used in a
cross bactericidal assay. The results obtained with the antisera
were similar to those shown above, suggesting that the bactericidal
activity is not influenced by the allele diversity but rather to
the antigen expression level.
[0245] The ability of immune sera to protect animals from
bacteremia during infection was also tested, using the infant rat
model. The sera used were obtained by immunising guinea pigs with
50 .mu.g purified rNadA (allele 3). Immunisation of outbred Wistar
rats (5 to 7 days old) was performed subcutaneously together CFA
for the first dose and IFA for the further three doses (days 28,
56, 84). Bleed out samples were taken on day 105 and used for the
animal protection assay.
[0246] Two experiments were performed using two different MenB
strains (8047 and 2996). Each strain has been serially passaged
three times in infant rats. In experiment 1, groups of four rats
were challenged intraperitoneally with 100 .mu.l of a mix of (a)
bacteria from strain 8047 (7.times.10.sup.3 CFU per rat) and (b)
heat inactivated guinea pig antiserum or anti-capsule control mAb
(SEAM 3 [Van Der Ley et al. (1992) Infect. Immun. 60:3156]). In
experiment 2, group of six rats were treated with the control mAb
or with different dilutions of guinea pig antiserum at time 0. Two
hours later, they were challenged with the 2996 bacteria
(5.6.times.10.sup.3 CFU per rat). In both experiments, blood
cultures were obtained 18 h after the challenge by puncturing the
heart with a syringe and needle containing approximately 25 U of
heparin without preservative. Bacteria numbers in the blood
cultures were obtained by plating out 1, 10, and 100 .mu.l of blood
onto chocolate agar overnight. For calculation of geometric mean
CFU/ml, animals with sterile cultures were assigned a value of 1
CFU/ml.
[0247] Results were as follows:
TABLE-US-00003 Blood culture at 18 hours CFU/ml Exp.sup.t Treatment
Positive/Total (10.sup.3) 1 Anti-capsular mAb (2 .mu.g/rat) 0/4
<0.001 Anti-NadA antiserum (1:5 dilution) 0/4 <0.001 PBS + 1%
BSA 5/5 40.17 2 Anti-capsular mAb (20 .mu.g/rat) 1/6 0.003
Anti-NadA antiserum (1:5 dilution) 1/6 0.002 Anti-NadA antiserum
(1:25 dilution) 3/6 0.035 Pre-immune NadA serum 6/6 1.683
[0248] Thus anti-NadA antiserum is highly protective in this
assay.
[0249] Overall, therefore, NadA has several attributes of being a
good vaccine antigen: (i) it is a surface-exposed molecule,
potentially involved in bacterial adhesion; (ii) it is present in
at least 50% of the disease-associated strains and in almost 100%
of three hypervirulent lineages; (iii) it elicits protective and
bactericidal antibodies in laboratory animals; and (iv) each allele
induces cross-bactericidal antibodies.
ORF40
[0250] ORF40 shows homology to Hsf and its allelic variant Hia,
both adhesins of Haemophilus influenzae. The different size among
Hia, Hsf and ORF40 is in part explained by the presence of three
copies of a large repeated domain in Hsf, which is present in
single copy in Hia and only partially in ORF40 (FIG. 7). In MenB,
ORF40 is found on the outer membrane as a protein of about 200 kDa
(cf. predicted MW of 59 kDa for mature protein).
App
[0251] App shows homology (FIG. 8) to the adhesion and penetration
protein Hap of H. influenzae, which is an adhesin with a
serine-protease activity that undergoes autoproteolytic cleavage
and extracellular release [Hendrixson et al. (1997) Mol Microbiol
26:505-518]. Uncleaved surface-associated Hap mediates adherence to
epithelial cells and promotes bacterial aggregation and
colonisation.
[0252] In N. meningitidis, App is exported to the outer membrane,
processed and secreted. Both Hap and App belong to the
autotransporter family which comprises proteins from gram-negative
bacteria characterized by a distinct mechanism of secretion. This
system was first described for IgA1 protease of N. gonorrhoeae,
which is considered the prototype of this family. Proteins of the
autotransporter family have been implicated in the virulence of
many gram-negative pathogens [Henderson & Nataro (2001) Infect
Immun 69:1231-1243]. They are synthesized as large precursor
proteins comprising at least three functional domains: a typical
N-terminal leader sequence, an internal domain (passenger domain)
and a C-terminal domain (translocator domain or .beta.-domain). The
leader sequence mediates the export (sec-dependent) of the protein
to the periplasm. Subsequently the translocator domain inserts into
the outer membrane forming a .beta.-barrel pore to allow the export
of the passenger domain. Once at the bacterial surface, the
passenger domain can be cleaved and released into the environment.
Cleavage can occur by an autoproteolytic event directed by protease
activity in the passenger domain itself. Passenger domains of
autotransporters are widely divergent, reflecting their remarkably
disparate roles. On the contrary the .beta.-domains display high
degree of conservation consistent with their conserved
function.
[0253] App possesses the prevailing domains of the autotransporter
proteins as well as the conserved serine protease motif (GDSGSP).
It has been shown that this motif is responsible for cleavage of
human IgA by the Neisseria IgA1 proteases and for autoproteolytic
cleavage of Hap protein of H. influenzae. App has been shown to be
a conserved antigen among meningococci, to be expressed during
infection and carriage, to stimulate B cells and T cells, and to
induces a bactericidal antibody response [Hadi et al. (2001) Mol.
Microbiol. 41:611-623; Van Ulsen et al. (2001) FEMS Immunol Med
Microbiol 32:53-64].
[0254] In serogroup B strain 2996, App has 1454 amino acids and a
predicted MW of 159,965 Da. FIG. 26 shows the protein's predicted
structural features. Three domains can be seen: domain 1 (amino
acids 1-42) is the signal peptide; domain 2 is the passenger
domain, which is the functionally active protein; domain 3 is the
C-terminal translocator domain with .beta. barrel structure.
[0255] At the N-terminus of the passenger domain, His-115, Asp-158
and Ser-267 correspond to the serine protease catalytic triad
His-98, Asp-140 and Ser-243 from Hap [Fink et al. (2001) J Biol
Chem 276:39492-39500]. Residues 285-302 are a putative
ATP/GTP-binding site (P loop), which suggests a mechanism of energy
coupling for outer membrane translocation. Towards the C-terminus
of the passenger domain, two Arg-rich regions are present. The
first (RRSRR) is residues 934-938 and the second (RRARR) begins at
residue 1149. These motifs are reminiscent of known targets for
trypsin-like proteolytic cleavage sites such as the one in
diphtheria toxin and those upstream of the auto-cleavage sites of
H. influenzae Hap, N. gonorrhoeae IgA-protease and B. pertussis
FhaB (FIG. 26, box 1). Downstream of the Arg-rich regions are
motifs .sup.954NTL.sup.956 and .sup.1176NSG.sup.1178, which are
identical or similar to the cleavage sites in autotransporters Ssp
(Serratia marcescens), Prn (Bordetella bronchiseptica), Brka
(Bordetella pertussis) [Jose et al. (1995) Mol. Microbiol.
18:378-380] and Hap (H. influenzae) (FIG. 26, box 2). Together,
these sequence motifs suggest that the two motifs
.sup.954NTL.sup.956 and .sup.1176NSG.sup.1178 and the
RR(A,S,R).sub.2RR pattern could act as signals for correct
localisation of downstream processing sites.
[0256] Further analysis of the App sequence shows a proline-rich
region, where the dipeptide motif PQ is repeated four times
beginning at residue 1156. A search for homology to known protein
sequences reveals some similarity to the surface proteins of S.
pneumonie PspA and PspC and to a proline-rich region of the B.
pertussis outer membrane protein p69 pertactin, where the
(PQP).sub.5 motif is located in a loop containing the major
immunoprotective epitope.
[0257] Finally, the last three amino acids of App (YRW) are
identical to those of Hap where they have been described as crucial
for outer membrane localisation and protein stability [Hendrixson
et al., 1997].
Expression in E. coli without Fusion Partners
[0258] ORF40, App and NadA full-length genes were cloned in pET21b+
vector and the plasmids were transformed in E. coli BL21(DE3) in
order to express the genes under control of T7 promoter. Expression
was achieved activating the promoter with IPTG or under non-induced
conditions. Localisation and surface-exposure of the proteins were
assayed by cell-fractionation experiments (SDS-PAGE and Western
blot), FACS analysis and whole-cell immunoblot. As shown in FIGS. 1
to 3, all the three proteins are translocated to the surface of E.
coli: [0259] ORF40 is expressed as monomeric form and possibly
forms also multimers (FIG. 1). [0260] App is exported to E. coli
outer membrane as a precursor of about 160 kDa, that is processed
and secreted in the culture supernatant (FIG. 2). [0261] NadA is
found to the be present in the outer membrane fraction as a single
high molecular weight band of approximately 180 kDa. This probably
corresponds to an oligomeric form of the protein. Such a band is
absent in E. coli expressing intracellular NadA (FIG. 3).
[0262] App expression was studied in more detail.
[0263] N. meningitidis strain 2996 genomic DNA was prepared as
previously described [Tinsley & Nassif (1996) PNAS USA
93:11109-11114[. DNA devoid of the sequence coding for the signal
peptide (amino acids 1 to 42) and of the STOP codon was amplified
using PCR primers SEQ IDs 18 & 19 followed by digestion with
NheI and XhoI and insertion into the NheI/XhoI sites of the pET-21b
expression vector, to give `pET-App-His` (FIG. 27). This plasmid
was introduced into E. coli BL21(DE3) and used for the expression
of a C-terminal His-tagged fusion protein which was purified and
used to raise antibodies. The full-length app gene was amplified
and cloned in a similar way, using PCR primers SEQ IDs 20 & 21,
to give plasmid `pET-App`
[0264] Plasmids were introduced into E. coli BL21(DE3) and
expression induced by addition of 1 mM IPTG. The expressed protein
was detected by western blotting (FIG. 28, lane 1). To verify that
the protein was exported to the E. coli surface, FACS (FIG. 29) and
immunofluorescence microscopy (FIG. 30) were used. The FACS
analysis showed positive surface expression on the pET-App
transformants (full-length gene) but no surface expression with
App-His (no signal peptide) or with the empty vector. The
immunofluorescence results agreed with FACS. Therefore expression
of the full-length app gene resulted in the export of App to the
surface of E. coli, but deletion of the first 42 amino acids
abolished surface-localisation.
[0265] Western blot analysis of outer membrane proteins from
pET-App transformants revealed a specific reactive band of
.about.160 kDa (FIG. 28, lane 1), corresponding to the predicted
molecular weight of the full-length protein. A corresponding band
was missing in the outer membrane fraction from untransformed
controls (lane 3). Western blot analysis of culture supernatants
revealed a secreted protein of .about.100 kDa with pET-App (lane 2)
that was absent with the untransformed controls (lane 4). Sometimes
a very weak band was also detected at .about.140 kDa in pET-App
transformants.
[0266] Therefore the full length app gene when introduced into E.
coli induces expression of an App protein which is exported to the
outer membrane, cleaved and released into the culture
supernatant.
Native Expression can Influence the Quality of the Immune
Response
[0267] To evaluate the role of protein conformation on induction of
an immune response, outer membrane vesicles from E. coli expressing
ORF40, App or NadA were isolated and used to immunise mice. Sera
were tested for bactericidal activity and results compared with
those obtained with the fusion proteins. The bactericidal response
(strain 2996) was improved 5-10 fold when the proteins are produced
in their "native" form in OMVs:
TABLE-US-00004 Bactericidal titres* Antigen Fusion protein E. coli
OMV ORF40 256 2048 App 64 1024 NadA 32768 >65536 *Titres
expressed as the reciprocal of the serum dilution yielding ~50%
bacteria killing
App Autoproteolytic Cleavage
[0268] E. coli pET-App transformants secrete a 100 kDa product into
culture supernatant and show a 160 kDa surface product. To test
whether the secreted App product derives from an autoproteolytic
process, one of the putative catalytic residues (Ser-267) was
replaced with Ala.
[0269] The pET-AppS267A mutant was obtained by site-directed
mutagenesis using the QuikChange kit (Stratagene) and primers SEQ
IDs 22 & 23.
[0270] SDS-PAGE analysis of total proteins from pET-AppS267A
transformants (FIG. 31, lane 2) showed a protein similar in size to
pET-App transformants (lane 1). The protein was shown to be surface
exposed by FACS analysis (FIG. 29). Western blot analysis of
culture supernatants showed App in pET-App transformants (FIG. 32,
lane 1) but not in pET-AppS267A transformants (lane 2).
[0271] Mutation of Ser-267 to Ala thus abolishes processing and
secretion of the App precursor, which remains cell-associated.
These data suggest that App has a serine protease activity that is
responsible for autoproteolytic processing and release in the
supernatant of the secreted App domain.
[0272] Cleavage at .sup.954NTL.sup.956 would leave a fragment with
predicted molecular weight of 104190 Da. Cleavage at
.sup.176NSG.sup.1178 would give a 128798 Da fragment. These two
predicted fragments may match the two bands of .about.140 and
.about.100 kDa observed in culture supernatants. Cleavage may occur
first to give the .about.140 kDa fragment and then second to give
the 100 kDa fragment. The .beta. domain of App would thus begin at
residue 1177.
NadA, ORF40 and App Function as Adhesins
[0273] Example 22 of international patent application WO01/64922
discloses that NadA expression in E. coli makes the transformed
bacterium adhere to human epithelial cells. The adherent phenotype
has been further studied for NadA and also for App and ORF40.
[0274] E. coli BL21(DE3) bacteria (10.sup.8 CFU), grown under
non-induced or induced conditions, were inoculated onto Chang human
epithelial monolayers (10.sup.5 cells) and incubated at 37.degree.
C. for 1 or 2 hours. Cells were then incubated with rabbit anti-E.
coli and PE-conjugate secondary antibody. Adhesion was detected by
FACS as specific fluorescence intensity associated to Chang cells.
Positive controls were E. coli DH5 expressing hsf (DH5/pDC601));
negative controls were BL21(DE3)/pET21b and DH5a/pT7-7. The results
in FIG. 4 show that the ability of the recombinant E. coli strains
to adhere to cultured epithelial cells is associated with
expression of these three proteins.
[0275] To confirm that these three proteins are able to promote
interaction with host cells, the recombinant proteins themselves
were investigated for binding to epithelial cells. 10.sup.5 Chang
human epithelial cells (Wong-Kilbourne derivative, clone 1-5c-4,
human conjunctiva) were incubated at 4.degree. C. for 30 minutes
with medium alone or with different concentration of ORF40 (150
.mu.g/ml), App (150 .mu.g/ml) or NadA (300 .mu.g/ml), or with
GNA2132 (300 .mu.m/ml) as negative control [see Pizza et al.
(2000)]. Binding was detected by FACS using polyclonal antisera
against the single recombinant proteins and a secondary
PE-conjugate antibody. The FACS signal shifts (FIG. 5) show that
the three proteins are able to bind to human epithelial cells,
whereas purified GNA2132 (negative control) does not.
[0276] FIG. 6A shows that binding increases in a dose-dependent
manner. Binding of NadA reaches a plateau at around 200 .mu.g/ml.
GNA2132 fails to bind even at 400 .mu.g/ml (FIG. 6B). Data in FIG.
6 are mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) values plotted against
protein concentration (.mu.g/ml).
[0277] Using FACS, binding of NadA to cells was also seen with
Hep-2 and MOLT-4 cells, but not with HeLa, A549, Hec-1B, Hep-G2,
CHO or HUVEC cells. Adhesion to Chang cells could be abolished by
treating the cells with pronase, indicating that the human receptor
for NadA is a protein.
[0278] Adhesion of purified NadA protein to Chang conjunctiva cells
was also observed using immunofluorescence microscopy. The protein
(lacking its C-terminal anchor domain) was incubated with Chang
cells at 37.degree. C. in complete culture medium for 3 hours at
various concentrations. Cells were then washed, fixed, and analysed
by laser confocal microscopy after staining with anti-NadA mouse
polyclonal antibodies and secondary Texas-red coupled anti-mouse
IgG antibodies. No binding was seen at 0 nM (FIG. 17A), but binding
was evident at 170 nM (17B) and 280 nM (17C), with clustering
evident at higher concentrations. In contrast, no binding of NadA
was seen with HeLa cells, even at 280 nM protein (17D).
[0279] Binding was much more evident at 37.degree. C. (FIG. 18A)
than at 4.degree. C. (FIG. 18B). The dot-like structures seen at
4.degree. C., compared to clusters at 37.degree. C., suggest that
lateral interactions between NadA monomers are
temperature-dependent (influenced by membrane fluidity).
[0280] To distinguish surface and endocytosed protein, saponin
detergent was added during the staining procedure. Intracellular
clusters having the size of endosomes were more evident (arrow)
when saponin was used, but a high proportion of protein remained on
the cell surface (FIG. 19).
[0281] Immunofluorescence also revealed that NadA binds to
monocytes (FIG. 20A). NadA alone (no staining antibody; 20B) and
NadA stained with pre-immune serum (20C) were not visible. At high
magnification, evidence of uptake into vesicles (either endosomes
or phagosomes) was seen.
[0282] FIG. 21 shows that murine macrophages (raw 264.7) bind and
endocytose NadA (125 nM, 3 hours, 37.degree. C.; cells cultured in
DMEM).
[0283] Heating NadA at 95.degree. C. for 15 minutes prior to
incubation removed its ability to bind to monocytes, as measured by
secretion of IL-.alpha. by the cells (FIG. 22). The stimulatory
activity of NadA preparations is thus heat-labile. Stimulatory
activity was also blocked by the use of anti-CD14 (FIG. 23) or by
the removal of NadA from the preparations using bead-immobilised
anti-NadA.
[0284] Immunofluorescence microscopy was also used to detect
binding of E. coli expressing NadA. Transformed E. coli bound
strongly (FIG. 24A) whereas untransformed bacteria did not (24B).
IL-.alpha. release by monocytes was over 1.5.times. higher using
the transformed E. coli than the untransformed bacteria at a
bacteria/monocyte ratio of 40:1.
[0285] Transformed E. coli were bound to glass cover slips, fixed
and double-stained with anti-NadA (FIG. 25A) and anti-E. coli
antibodies (25B). When both were used, patches of anti-NadA were
visible, suggesting that NadA tends to form aggregates on the
bacterial surface, which hamper the interaction of antibodies with
other surface antigens.
[0286] Looking at App, recombinant E. coli strains were incubated
with monolayers of Chang conjunctiva epithelial cells
(Wong-Kilbourne derivative, clone 1-5c-4 [human conjunctiva], ATCC
CCL 20.2) and adhesion was analysed using FACS. Cells obtained from
confluent monolayers were seeded at 10.sup.5 cells per well in
12-well tissue culture plates and incubated for 24 hours. Cultures
of bacteria after IPTG induction were washed twice in PBS and
resuspended in DMEM+1% FBS to a concentration of 5.times.10.sup.8
bacteria per ml. Aliquots of 1 ml of each strain were added to
monolayer cultures of Chang cells and incubated for 3 hours at
37.degree. C. in 5% CO.sub.2. Non-adherent bacteria were removed by
washing three times with PBS, and 300 .mu.l of cell dissociation
solution (Sigma) were added to each microtitre well. Incubation was
continued at 37.degree. C. for 10 minutes. Cells were harvested and
then incubated for 1 hour at 4.degree. C. with rabbit polyclonal
anti-E. coli antiserum (DAKO). Cells were washed twice in PBS+5%
FBS and incubated for 30 minutes at 4.degree. C. with
R-Phycoerythrin-conjugated anti-rabbit IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch
Laboratories). Cells were then washed in PBS+5% FBS and resuspended
in 100 .mu.l PBS. Fluorescence was measured with FACSCalibur flow
cytometer (Becton Dickinson). For each of fluorescence profile,
10000 cells were analysed.
[0287] The results reported in FIG. 33 show pET-App transformants
were able to adhere to Chang cells, giving a fluorescence shift of
90.3%. S267A transformants were also able to adhere (91.0%).
Untransformed E. coli were unable to adhere to Chang cells (bottom
FACS plot).
[0288] As for NadA, FACS results were in agreement with
immunofluorescence microscopy data. As shown in FIGS. 34A &
34B, pET-App transformants incubated with monolayers demonstrated
high levels of adhesion to epithelial cells and visible
bacteria-bacteria aggregation. For the S267A mutant, adhesion and
bacterial aggregation were increased (34C & 34D). Untransformed
controls showed no adhesion (34G). Deletion of the first 42 amino
acids also abolished adhesion.
[0289] In contrast to Chang epithelial cells, no adhesion was seen
when HUVEC endothelial cells were tested with pET-App
transformants. To cause sepsis and meningitis, N. meningitidis has
to interact with human endothelial cells. App may thus be involved
in the first step of colonisation at the level of human respiratory
epithelial mucosa, rather than in pathological endothelial
colonisation.
Localization and Specificity of App Binding Activity.
[0290] To identify the binding region of App, a chimeric protein
named App.beta. was used. This protein consists of the C-terminal
domain of App (amino acids 1077 to 1454) fused to the leader
peptide of IgA1 protease of N. gonorrhoeae. The gonococcal leader
sequence was chosen because it has been well characterized and is
functional in E. coli. Plasmid pET-App.beta. contains a 1.1 kbp DNA
fragment amplified by PCR using SEQ IDs 26 & 27.
[0291] The pET-App.beta. construct was introduced into E. coli
BL21(DE3). FACS localisation studies confirmed that App.beta. was
localized on the E. coli surface. The in vitro adhesion assay using
Chang epithelial cells showed adhesion by immunofluorescence (FIGS.
34E & 34F). FACS analysis showed that the pET-App.beta.
transformants were still able to adhere to epithelial cells but at
lower levels (74.2% shift) than pET-App transformants.
[0292] These results indicate that the App binding domain is
located in its C-terminal region, in the 100mer fragment between
residues 1077 and 1176.
[0293] Purified recombinant proteins were also studied.
App-.alpha.-His consists of the N-terminal portion of App (amino
acids 43-1084) fused to a poly-His tag. Plasmid pET-App.alpha.-His
contains a NheI/XhoI 3.1 kbp fragment amplified by PCR with SEQ IDs
24 & 25. The binding activity of the purified recombinant
App-.alpha.-His was compared to that of App-His by FACS binding
assays. Chang cells were incubated with increased concentrations of
recombinant App proteins or lipoprotein NMB2132-His (negative
control). Binding of App-His (.diamond-solid.) increased in a
dose-dependent manner and reached a plateau at a concentration of
.about.50 .mu.g/ml whereas the binding of App.alpha.-his
(.box-solid.) was very low (FIG. 35). The control NMB2132-His
(.tangle-solidup.) failed to bind Chang cells.
[0294] To explore the biochemical nature of the molecule involved
in interaction with App, the Chang cells were treated with pronase
or phospholipase A2 before the binding experiments. 10.sup.5 cells
per well were placed in microplates and incubated in FCS-free DMEM
at 37.degree. C. in 5% CO.sub.2 for 30 minutes with (a) pronase at
250, 500, or 1000 .mu.g/ml or (b) phospholipase A2 at 50, 200, or
800 .mu.g/ml. After enzymatic incubation, an equal volume of
complete medium was added to each well to stop the reaction. Cells
were subsequently mixed with 100 .mu.g/ml App-His or medium alone
and incubated for 1 hours at 4.degree. C. As shown in FIG. 36,
pronase treatment (left-hand columns) markedly reduced the binding
of App-His protein to Chang cells, while treatment with
phospholipase A2 (right-hand columns) did not reduce the binding.
The receptor for App on Chang cells is thus proteinaceous.
[0295] Adhesion to different cell lines were also tested (FIG. 37).
After incubation of cultured cells with three different
concentrations of App-His (100, 25 & 6.25 .mu.g/ml) high level
binding to Chang cells and HepG2 cells was seen, a moderate level
of binding to A-549 cells, and minimal binding to HeLa cells. No
binding was observed to Hec-1-B, Hep-2, 16HBE14o epithelial cell
lines or to HUVEC endothelial cells.
App Knockout
[0296] After the work on E. coli suggesting an adhesin role for
App, an isogenic mutant strain of N. meningitidis was constructed.
The starting strain was MC58. Its app gene was truncated and
replaced with an antibiotic cassette by transforming the parent
strain with the plasmid pBSUDAppERM, which contains a truncated app
gene and the ermC gene (erythromycin resistance) for allelic
exchange. Briefly, 600 bp of the upstream flanking region including
the start codon and 700 by downstream flanking region including the
stop codon were amplified from MC58 using primers SEQ IDs 28 to 31.
Fragments were cloned into pBluescript and transformed into E. coli
DH5 using standard techniques. Once all subcloning was complete,
naturally competent N. meningitidis strain MC58 was transformed by
selecting a few colonies grown overnight on GC agar plates and
mixing them with 20 .mu.l of 10 mM TrisHCl pH8.5 containing 1 .mu.g
of plasmid DNA. The mixture was spotted onto a GC agar plate,
incubated for 6 hrs at 37.degree. C., 5% CO2 then diluted in PBS
and spread on GC agar plates containing 5 .mu.g/ml erythromycin.
The deletion app gene in the genome of MC58 was confirmed by PCR.
Lack of App expression was confirmed by Western blot analysis.
[0297] Adhesion of wildtype MC58 and the isogenic MC58.DELTA.app
mutant strain was evaluated on Chang cells. There was a .about.10
fold reduction (ranging from 3- to 27-fold in different
experiments) of the association of the knockout mutant compared
with the wild type strain (FIG. 38). No difference was observed
between the app.sup.- mutant and the parental strain with Hep2 and
16HBE14o cell lines and with HUVEC endothelial cells, confirming
that App does not mediate adhesion to these cells.
[0298] No non-pilus adhesins which contribute to adhesion of N.
meningitidis in a capsulated background have previously been
reported.
[0299] App expression was studied in N. meningitidis MC58. Colonies
from plates grown overnight were diluted in GC broth and incubated
at 37.degree. C. with 5% CO.sub.2. Samples were taken when
OD.sub.620=0.5 (mid log phase) and 0.8 (stationary phase) and
analysed by western blot. Two bands with apparent molecular weights
.about.160 and .about.140 kDa were detected in whole cells lysates
of log phase bacteria (FIG. 39, lane 1), while stationary phase
bacteria showed only a faint band at .about.140 kDa (lane 3). As
expected, no App was observed in the .DELTA.App mutant (lanes 2
& 4).
[0300] In marked contrast, supernatant samples of wild-type MC58
showed a band at .about.140 kDa and its amount was higher in
stationary phase than in log phase (FIG. 40, lanes 3 & 1). The
stationary phase sample also showed a reactive band at .about.100
kDa.
[0301] It will be understood that the invention is described above
by way of example only and modifications may be made whilst
remaining within the scope and spirit of the invention.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE I Characteristics of 26 N. meningitidis
strains and their nadA gene allele Serogroup Clonal nadA (TAAA)
NadA Strain type: subtype group allele repeats expression 64/69 NG:
15: P1.7, 16 ET-5 1 4 + BZ83 B: 15 ET-5 1 5 +++ CU385 B: 4: P1.15
ET-5 1 6 ++ MC58 B: 15: P1.7, 16b ET-5 1 9 + BZ169 B: 15: P1.16
ET-5 1 12 ++ 95330* B: 4: P1.15 ET-5 1 9 nd ISS1104 B: 15: P1.7, 16
nd 1 4 + ISS1071 B: 15: P1.7, 16 nd 1 5 +++ ISS832 B: 15: P1.7 nd 1
5 ++ NM119 B.4.P1.15 nd 1 6 nd NM066 B: 15: P1.7, 16 nd 1 12 nd
90/18311 C: NT: P1.5 ET-37 2 9 ++ NGP165 B: NT: P1.2 ET-37 2 9 ++
FAM18 C: 2a: P1.5, 2 ET-37 2 9 nd M986 B: 2a: P1.5, 2 ET-37 2 12 ++
ISS1024* C: 2b: P1.5 nd 2 9 ++ ISS838 C: 2a: P1.5, 2 nd 2 6 ++ PMC8
C: nd 2 10 ++++ 961-5945 B: 2b: P1.21, 16 A4 2 12 +++ ISS759* C:
2b: P1.2 nd 3 8 ++++ F6124 A Subgroup 3 9 + III NMB B: 2b: P1.5, 2
nd 3 12 ++ 8047 B: 2b: P1.2 nd 3 12 +++ 2996 B: 2b: P1.5-1, 2 nd 3
12 +++ C11 C: NT: P1.1 nd 3 12 +++ 973-1720* C: 2b: P1.2 A4 3 12
+++ *indicates that the strain carriers a minor variant of the
relevant allele nd = not done
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE II Characteristics of N. meningitidis strains
analysed for NadA expression ST ET Strain Year Serogroup: type:
subtype Country Disease NadA gene 74 ET5 MC58 1985 B: 15: P1.7, 16b
UK case + 32 ET5 H44/76 1976 B: 15: P1.7, 16 Norway case + 32 ET5
BZ169 1985 B: 15: P1.16 Netherlands case + 32 ET5 30/00 2000 B: 15:
P1.7, 16 Norway case + 33 ET5 N44/89 1989 B: 4, 7: P1.19, 15 Brazil
case + 34 ET5 BZ83 1984 B: 15 Netherlands case + -- ET5 72/00 2000
B: 15: P1.7, 13 Norway case + -- ET5 39/99 1999 C: 15: P1.7, 16
Norway case + -- ET5 M4102 1996 B: ND USA case + -- ET5 95330 1995
B: 4: P1, 15 Canada case + -- ET5 220173I 1993 NG: 4: P1.15 Iceland
carrier + -- ET5 64/96 1996 NG: 15: P1.7, 16 Norway carrier + --
ET5 CU385 1980 B: 4: P1.15 Cuba case + -- ET5 8680 1987 B Chile
case + -- ET5 204/92 1992 B Cuba case + -- ET5 EG329 1985 B Germany
case + -- ET5 NG080 1981 B Norway case + -- ET5 NG144/82 1982 B
Norway case + -- ET5 NG PB24 1985 B Norway case + -- ET5 196/87
1987 C Norway case + -- ET5 Mk521/99 1999 B Ivory Coast case + --
ET5 GR 4/00 2000 -- Greece case + 11 ET37 FAM18 1983 C: 2a: P1.5, 2
USA case + 11 ET37 L93/4286 1993 C UK case + -- ET37 NGP165 1974 B:
NT: P1.2 Norway -- + -- ET37 M986 1963 B: 2a: P1.5, 2 USA case + --
ET37 C4678 1998 C: 2a: P1.5, 2 Germany case + -- ET37 95N477 1995
B: 2a: P1.2 Australia ease - -- ET37 BRAZ10 1976 C Brazil case + --
ET37 F1576 1984 C Ghana case + -- ET37 M597 1988 C Israel case + --
ET37 500 1984 C Italy case + -- ET37 D1 1989 C Mali case + -- ET37
NG P20 1969 B Norway case + -- ET37 MA-5756 1985 C Spain case + --
ET37 38VI 1964 B USA carrier + -- ET37 N1/99 1999 C: 2a Norway case
+ -- ET37 N28/00 2000 W-135: 2a Norway case + 66 A4 973-1720 1997
C: 2b: P1.2 Australia case + 153 A4 961-5945 1996 B: 2b: P1.21, 16
Australia case + -- A4 5/99 1999 B: 2b: P1.5, 2 Norway case + -- A4
312294 1995 C: 2b: P1.5, 2 UK case + -- A4 96217 1996 B: 2b: P1.5,
10 Canada case + -- A4 G2136 1986 B UK case + -- A4 312 901 1996 C
UK case + -- A4 AK22 1992 B Greece case + -- A4 BZ10 1967 B Holland
case + -- A4 BZ163 1979 B Holland case + -- A4 B6116/77 1977 B
Iceland case + -- A4 94/155 1994 C New Zealand case + -- A4 SB25
1990 C South Africa case + -- A4 N53/00 2000 C: 2b: P1.5, 2 Norway
case + -- A4 N62/00 2000 C: 2b: P1.5, 2 Norway case + 41 Lin.III
BZ198 1986 B: NT Netherlands case - 42 Lin.III M198/254 1998 B: 4:
P1.4 New Zealand case - 158 Lin.III 972-0319 1997 B: NT: P1.4
Australia case - 159 Lin.III 980-2543 1998 B: NT: P1.4 Australia
case - 1127 Lin.III 67/00 2000 B: 4, 7 Norway case - -- Lin.III
93/114 1993 C: 4: P1.4 Belgium case - -- Lin.III M198/172 1998 B:
4: P1.4 New Zealand case - -- Lin.III 347/97 1997 B: 4: P1.4 New
Zealand case - -- Lin.III 386/98 1998 B: 4: P1.4 New Zealand case -
-- Lin.III 389/98 1998 B: 4: P1.4 New Zealand case - -- Lin.III
392/98 1998 B: 4: P1.4 New Zealand case - -- Lin.III 394/98 1998 B:
4: P1.4 New Zealand case - -- Lin.III 400 1991 B Austria case - --
Lin.III M40/94 1994 B Chile case - -- Lin.III AK50 1992 B Greece
case - -- Lin.III M-101/93 1993 B Iceland case - -- Lin.III 931905
1993 B Netherlands case - -- Lin.III 91/40 1991 B New Zealand case
- -- Lin.III 50/94 1994 B Norway case - -- Lin.III N45/96 1996 B
Norway case - -- Lin.III 88/03415 1988 B Scotland case - 1 s I
BZ133 1977 B: NT Netherlands case - 5 s III F6124 1988 A Chad case
+ 4 s IV-1 205900 1990 A 4, 21: P1.7: 1 Mali case - 4 s IV-1 Z2491
1983 A Gambia case - 12 other NG3/88 1988 B: 8(2): P1.1 Norway case
- 13 other NG6/88 1988 B: NT: P1.1 Norway case - 14 other NGF26
1988 B: NT: P1.16 Norway carrier - 15 other NGE31 1988 B: NT Norway
carrier - 18 other 528 1989 B: nd Russia case - 20 other 1000 1988
B: NT: P1.5 Russia case - 22 other A22 1986 W-135 Norway carrier -
26 other NGE28 1988 B: 4 Norway carrier + 29 other 860800 1986 Y
Netherlands case - 31 other E32 1988 Z Norway carrier - 35 other
SWZ107 1986 B: 4: P1.2 Switzerland case - 36 other NGH38 1988 B:
NT: P1.3 Norway carrier - 38 other BZ232 1964 B: NT: P1.2
Netherlands case - 39 other E26 1988 X Norway carrier - 43 other
NGH15 1988 B: 8: P1.15 Norway carrier - 47 other NGH36 1988 B: 8:
P1.2 Norway carrier - 48 other BZ147 1963 B: NT Netherlands case -
49 other 297-0 1987 B: 4: P1.15 Chile carrier - 540 other 2996 1975
B: 2b: P1.5-1, 2 UK case + 1034 other 96/1101 1996 C: 14: P.1.1, 7
Belgium case - -- other 15 1990 B: 14, 19: P1.9, 15 Slovenia case -
-- other M1090 1996 B: 4 Israel case - -- other M1096 1996 C: NT:
P1.5 Israel case - -- other B3937 1995 B: 22: P1.16 Germany case +
-- other 31 1993 B: 4 Finland case - -- other 95074 1995 B: NT:
P1.13 Canada case + -- other 660/94 1994 B: 4: P1.6 Algeria case -
-- other 30/93 1993 B: 14: P1.14 Argentina case - -- other 24370
1996 B: ND South Africa case - -- other 2411751 1993 NG: 21: P1.16
Iceland carrier - -- other 171274I 1993 NG: 15: -- Iceland carrier
- -- other 65/96 1996 B: 4: P1.14 Norway carrier + -- other 66/96
1996 B: 17: P1.15 Norway carrier - -- other 149/96 1996 B: 1, 19:
P1.5, 2 Belgium carrier + -- other 16060 1991 B: 4: P1.14 Belgium
carrier - -- other 16489 1991 NG: 21: P.1.1 Norway carrier - --
other 16990 1991 NG: 14: P1.5, 2, 6 Norway carrier - -- other 2022
1991 NG: 4: P1.10 Norway carrier + -- other M136 1968 B: 11: P1.15
USA case - -- other 860060 1988 X Holland case - -- other NG H41
1986 B Norway carrier - -- other NG G40 1988 B Norway carrier - --
other NG4/88 1988 B Norway case - -- other EG 327 1985 B DDR case -
-- other EG 328 1985 B DDR case - -- other 3906 1977 B China case -
-- other NG E30 1988 B Norway carrier - -- other 71/94 1994 Y
Norway case - -- other DK24 1940 B Denmark case - -- -- C11 1965 C:
16: P1.7a, 1 Germany -- + -- -- pmc8 -- C -- -- + -- -- NMB 1968 B:
2b: P1.5, 2 USA case + -- -- 8047 1978 B: 2b: P1.2 USA case + -- --
S3446 1972 B: 14: P1.23, 14 USA case - -- -- ISS 749 1996 B: 14:
P1.13 Italy case - -- -- ISS 759 1996 C: 2b: P1.2 Italy case + --
-- ISS 832 1997 B: 15: P1.7 Italy case + -- -- ISS 838 1997 C: 2a:
P1.5, 2 Italy case + -- -- ISS1001 1999 B: 14: P1.13 Italy case -
-- -- ISS1024 2000 C: 2b: P1.5 Italy case + -- -- ISS1026 2000 B:
4: P1.13 Italy case - -- -- ISS1071 2000 B: 15: P1.7, 16 Italy case
+ -- -- ISS1102 2000 B: 15: P1.4 Italy case - -- -- ISS1104 2000 B:
15: P1.7, 16 Italy case + -- -- ISS1106 2000 B: 4: P1.4 Italy case
- -- -- ISS1113 2000 C: 2a: P1.5 Italy case + -- -- N1002/90 -- --
Brazil -- + -- -- IMC2135 -- -- Brazil -- + -- -- NM001 -- B: 4:
P1.4 UK case - -- -- NM002 -- B: NT: P1.16 UK case - -- -- NM004 --
B: NT: P1.14 UK case - -- -- NM008 -- B: 4: P1.4 UK case - -- --
NM009/10 -- B: 4: P1.3, 6 UK case - -- -- NM021 -- B: 4: P1.16 UK
case - -- -- NM036 -- C: 2a: P1.10 UK case + -- -- NM037 -- B: 2b:
P1.10 UK case + -- -- NM050 -- B: NT: P1.9 UK case - -- -- NM058 --
B: NT: NST UK case - -- -- NM066 -- B: 15: P1.7, 16 UK case + -- --
NM067 -- C: 2a: NST UK case + -- -- NM069 -- B: 15: P1.7, 16 UK
case + -- -- NM081 -- C: 2a: P1.5, 2 UK case + -- -- NM088 -- C:
2a: P1.5, 2 UK case + -- -- NM092 -- B: 4: P1.4 UK case - -- --
NM106 -- B: NT: P1.4 UK case - -- -- NM107/8 -- B: 4: P1.4 UK case
- -- -- NM117 -- B: 21: P1.9 UK case - -- -- NM119 -- B: 4: P1.15
UK case + -- -- NM131 -- B UK case - -- -- NM145 -- C UK case + --
-- NM154 -- C: NT: P1.5, 2 UK case + -- -- NM156 -- B: 15: P1.16 UK
case + -- -- NM167 -- B UK case - -- -- NM184 -- B: NT: P1.5, 2 UK
case - -- -- NM186 -- B UK case - -- -- NM188 -- B UK case + -- --
NM200 -- B: 4: P1.4 UK case -
TABLE-US-00007 TABLE III SEQUENCE LISTING SEQ ID NO: Description 1
allele 1 of 961 2 allele 2 of 961 3 allele 3 of 961 4 allele 1 of
961 (first-ATG start) 5 allele 2 of 961 (first-ATG start) 6 allele
3 of 961 (first-ATG start) 7 variant allele 2 of 961 in strain
ISS1024 8 variant allele 2 of 961 (first-ATG start) in strain
ISS1024 9 variant allele 3 of 961 in strains 973-1720 and ISS759 10
variant allele 3 of 961 (first-ATG start) in strains 973-1720 and
ISS759 11 961 allele 1/2 chimera (strain 95330) 12 961 allele 1/2
chimera (strain 95330) (first-ATG start) 13 961 allele C 14 961
allele C (first-ATG start) 15 coding sequence for SEQ ID 13 16-31
PCR primers 32 SEQ ID 650 from WO99/24578 33-39 Domain derivatives
of SEQ ID 32
Sequence CWU 1
1
511362PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele 1 of NadA 1Met Lys His
Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5 10 15Phe Cys
Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Ser Asp Asp Asp Val Lys Lys20 25 30Ala
Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Val Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln Glu Ile35 40
45Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Gly Glu Asp Gly50
55 60Thr Ile Thr Gln Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp
Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu
Thr Lys Thr85 90 95Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val
Lys Ala Ala Glu100 105 110Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu
Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala115 120 125Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu
Asp Glu Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn130 135 140Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile
Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn145 150 155 160Ile Val Lys
Ile Asp Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp165 170 175Lys
His Ala Glu Ala Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr180 185
190Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys
Gln195 200 205Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val
Lys Ala Ala210 215 220Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala
Gly Thr Ala Asn Thr225 230 235 240Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val
Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp Ile Lys245 250 255Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn
Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Lys Asn Ser Ala Arg260 265 270Ile Asp Ser Leu
Asp Lys Asn Val Ala Asn Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg275 280 285Gln Gly
Leu Ala Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr290 295
300Asn Val Gly Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys
Ser305 310 315 320Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe
Thr Glu Asn Phe325 330 335Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr
Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala340 345 350Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn Tyr
Glu Trp355 3602398PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele 2 of NadA
2Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5
10 15Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val Lys
Lys20 25 30Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln
Glu Ile35 40 45Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp
Glu Asp Gly50 55 60Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val
Glu Ala Asp Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val
Thr Asn Leu Thr Lys Thr85 90 95Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp
Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu100 105 110Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr
Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala115 120 125Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr
Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile Thr130 135 140Thr Phe Ala
Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp Glu Lys145 150 155
160Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys His Ala Glu Ala Phe
Asn165 170 175Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala
Asp Glu Ala180 185 190Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys Gln Thr Ala
Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln195 200 205Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala
Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala210 215 220Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala
Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala225 230 235 240Val Ala Ala Lys
Val Thr Asp Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys245 250 255Asp Asn
Ile Ala Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu260 265
270Glu Ser Asp Ser Lys Phe Val Arg Ile Asp Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr
Thr275 280 285Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu Ala Ser Ala Glu Lys Ser
Ile Thr Glu290 295 300His Gly Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly Leu Asp Arg Thr
Val Ser Asp Leu Arg305 310 315 320Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala
Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu325 330 335Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val
Gly Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly340 345 350Gly Tyr Lys Ser
Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe355 360 365Thr Glu
Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser370 375
380Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp385 390
3953405PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele 3 of NadA 3Met Lys
His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5 10 15Phe
Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val Lys Lys20 25
30Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln Glu Ile35
40 45Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu Asp
Gly50 55 60Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala
Asp Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn
Leu Thr Lys Thr85 90 95Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys
Val Lys Ala Ala Glu100 105 110Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys
Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala115 120 125Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala
Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn130 135 140Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn
Ile Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn145 150 155 160Ile Val
Lys Ile Asp Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp165 170
175Lys His Ala Glu Ala Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu
Thr180 185 190Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu
Ala Lys Gln195 200 205Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala
Lys Val Lys Ala Ala210 215 220Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala
Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala Asn Thr225 230 235 240Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu
Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp Ile Lys245 250 255Ala Asp Ile Ala
Thr Asn Lys Asp Asn Ile Ala Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser260 265 270Ala Asp
Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser Asp Ser Lys Phe Val Arg Ile275 280
285Asp Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu Ala
Ser290 295 300Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile Ala Asp His Asp Thr Arg Leu Asn
Gly Leu Asp305 310 315 320Lys Thr Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr
Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala Glu325 330 335Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe
Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly Arg Phe340 345 350Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val
Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala355 360 365Ile Gly Thr Gly
Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly370 375 380Val Ala
Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly385 390 395
400Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp4054364PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele
1 of NadA (first-ATG start) 4Met Ser Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys
Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu
Ala Ala Thr Ser Asp Asp Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys Ala Ala Thr Val Ala
Ile Val Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu Ile Asn Gly Phe Lys
Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Gly Glu50 55 60Asp Gly Thr Ile Thr
Gln Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65 70 75 80Asp Asp Phe
Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr85 90 95Lys Thr
Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala100 105
110Ala Glu Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr
Asp115 120 125Ala Ala Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu Asp Glu Thr
Thr Asn Ala130 135 140Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile Thr Thr Phe
Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys145 150 155 160Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp Glu
Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr165 170 175Val Asp Lys His Ala Glu
Ala Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp180 185 190Glu Thr Asn Thr
Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala195 200 205Lys Gln
Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys210 215
220Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly Thr
Ala225 230 235 240Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val Ala Ala
Lys Val Thr Asp245 250 255Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys Ala
Asp Ile Ala Lys Asn Ser260 265 270Ala Arg Ile Asp Ser Leu Asp Lys
Asn Val Ala Asn Leu Arg Lys Glu275 280 285Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala
Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln290 295 300Pro Tyr Asn Val
Gly Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr305 310 315 320Lys
Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu325 330
335Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly
Ser340 345 350Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp355
3605400PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele 2 of NadA (first-ATG
start) 5Met Ser Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Ile Thr Thr Ala Ile
Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp Asp
Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr Asn
Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu Ile Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr
Asp Ile Asp Glu50 55 60Asp Gly Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala
Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65 70 75 80Asp Asp Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys
Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr85 90 95Lys Thr Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln
Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala100 105 110Ala Glu Ser Glu Ile Glu
Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Ala Leu Asp
Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn130 135 140Ile Thr
Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp145 150 155
160Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys His Ala Glu
Ala165 170 175Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr Asn Thr
Lys Ala Asp180 185 190Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys Gln
Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr195 200 205Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys
Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly210 215 220Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly
Thr Ala Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala225 230 235 240Glu Ala Val Ala
Ala Lys Val Thr Asp Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr245 250 255Asn Lys
Asp Asn Ile Ala Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr Thr260 265
270Arg Glu Glu Ser Asp Ser Lys Phe Val Arg Ile Asp Gly Leu Asn
Ala275 280 285Thr Thr Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu Ala Ser Ala Glu
Lys Ser Ile290 295 300Thr Glu His Gly Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly Leu Asp
Arg Thr Val Ser Asp305 310 315 320Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly
Leu Ala Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser325 330 335Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr
Asn Val Gly Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala340 345 350Val Gly Gly Tyr
Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe355 360 365Arg Phe
Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr370 375
380Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu
Trp385 390 395 4006407PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREallele 3 of
NadA (first-ATG start) 6Met Ser Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu
Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala
Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala
Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu Ile Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly
Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu50 55 60Asp Gly Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys
Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65 70 75 80Asp Asp Phe Lys Gly
Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr85 90 95Lys Thr Val Asn
Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala100 105 110Ala Glu
Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp115 120
125Ala Ala Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn
Ala130 135 140Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu
Glu Thr Lys145 150 155 160Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp Glu Lys Leu
Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr165 170 175Val Asp Lys His Ala Glu Ala Phe
Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp180 185 190Glu Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala
Asp Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala195 200 205Lys Gln Thr Ala
Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys210 215 220Ala Ala
Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala225 230 235
240Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr
Asp245 250 255Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys Asp Asn Ile Ala
Lys Lys Ala260 265 270Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser
Asp Ser Lys Phe Val275 280 285Arg Ile Asp Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr
Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu290 295 300Ala Ser Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile
Ala Asp His Asp Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly305 310 315 320Leu Asp Lys Thr
Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu325 330 335Ala Glu
Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly340 345
350Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser
Ala355 360 365Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe
Ala Ala Lys370 375 380Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser
Ser Ala Ala Tyr His385 390 395 400Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu
Trp4057391PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREvariant allele 2 of NadA
in strain 1881024 7Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala
Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5 10 15Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp
Asp Asp Val Lys Lys20 25 30Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr
Asn Asn Gly Gln Glu Ile35 40 45Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile
Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu Asp Gly50 55 60Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr
Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu
Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr Lys Thr85 90 95Val Asn Glu Asn Lys
Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu100 105 110Ser Glu Ile
Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala115 120 125Leu
Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile Thr130 135
140Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp Glu
Lys145 150 155 160Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys His Ala
Glu Ala Phe Asn165 170 175Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr Asn
Thr Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala180 185 190Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys
Gln Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln195 200 205Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val
Lys Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala210 215 220Asn Thr Ala Ala
Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp225 230 235 240Ile
Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys Asp Ile Asp Ala Lys Lys Ala245
250 255Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser Asp Ser Lys Phe
Val260 265 270Arg Ile Asp Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr Glu Lys Leu Asp
Thr Arg Leu275 280 285Ala Ser Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile Thr Glu His Gly
Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly290 295 300Leu Asp Arg Thr Val Ser Asp Leu Arg
Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu305 310 315 320Ala Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu
Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly325 330 335Arg Phe Asn Val
Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala340 345 350Val Ala
Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys355 360
365Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr
His370 375 380Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp385 3908393PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATUREvariant allele 2 of NadA (first-ATG start) in
strain 1881024 8Met Ser Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr
Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn
Asp Asp Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala
Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu Ile Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr
Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu50 55 60Asp Gly Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala
Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65 70 75 80Asp Asp Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly
Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr85 90 95Lys Thr Val Asn Glu Asn
Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala100 105 110Ala Glu Ser Glu
Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Ala
Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn130 135
140Ile Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile
Asp145 150 155 160Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys
His Ala Glu Ala165 170 175Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu
Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp180 185 190Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu
Ala Lys Gln Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr195 200 205Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala
Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly210 215 220Thr Ala Asn Thr
Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val225 230 235 240Thr
Asp Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys Asp Asn Ile Ala Lys245 250
255Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser Asp Ser
Lys260 265 270Phe Val Arg Ile Asp Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr Glu Lys
Leu Asp Thr275 280 285Arg Leu Ala Ser Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile Thr Glu
His Gly Thr Arg Leu290 295 300Asn Gly Leu Asp Arg Thr Val Ser Asp
Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln305 310 315 320Gly Leu Ala Glu Gln Ala
Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn325 330 335Val Gly Arg Phe
Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu340 345 350Ser Ala
Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala355 360
365Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala
Ala370 375 380Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp385
3909404PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREvariant allele 3 of NadA in
strains 973-1720 and 188759 9Met Gln His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu
Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5 10 15Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala
Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val Lys Lys20 25 30Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala
Met Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln Glu Ile Asn35 40 45Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu
Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu Asp Gly Thr50 55 60Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp
Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp Asp Phe65 70 75 80Lys Gly Leu
Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr Lys Thr Val85 90 95Asn Glu
Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu Ser100 105
110Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala
Leu115 120 125Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala
Leu Asn Lys130 135 140Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu
Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile145 150 155 160Val Lys Ile Asp Glu Lys Leu Glu
Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys165 170 175His Ala Glu Ala Phe Asn
Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr Asn180 185 190Thr Lys Ala Asp
Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys Gln Thr195 200 205Ala Glu
Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu210 215
220Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala Asn Thr
Ala225 230 235 240Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr
Asp Ile Lys Ala245 250 255Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn Lys Asp Asn Ile Ala
Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala260 265 270Asp Val Tyr Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser
Asp Ser Lys Phe Val Arg Ile Asp275 280 285Gly Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr
Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu Ala Ser Ala290 295 300Glu Lys Ser Ile
Ala Asp His Asp Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly Leu Asp Lys305 310 315 320Thr
Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala Glu Gln325 330
335Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly Arg Phe
Asn340 345 350Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala
Val Ala Ile355 360 365Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala
Ala Lys Ala Gly Val370 375 380Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser
Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val385 390 395 400Asn Tyr Glu
Trp10407PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREvariant allele 3 of NadA
(first-ATG start) in strains 973-1720 and 188759 10Met Ser Met Gln
His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe
Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys
Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu
Ile Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu50 55
60Asp Gly Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65
70 75 80Asp Asp Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu
Thr85 90 95Lys Thr Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val
Lys Ala100 105 110Ala Glu Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu
Ala Asp Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Ala Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu
Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala130 135 140Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile
Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys145 150 155 160Thr Asn Ile Val Lys
Ile Asp Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr165 170 175Val Asp Lys
His Ala Glu Ala Phe Asn Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp180 185 190Glu
Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala195 200
205Lys Gln Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val
Lys210 215 220Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala
Gly Thr Ala225 230 235 240Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala Val
Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp245 250 255Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn
Lys Asp Asn Ile Ala Lys Lys Ala260 265 270Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr
Thr Arg Glu Glu Ser Asp Ser Lys Phe Val275 280 285Arg Ile Asp Gly
Leu Asn Ala Thr Thr Glu Lys Leu Asp Thr Arg Leu290 295 300Ala Ser
Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile Ala Asp His Asp Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly305 310 315
320Leu Asp Lys Thr Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly
Leu325 330 335Ala Glu Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr
Asn Val Gly340 345 350Arg Phe Asn Val Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr
Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala355 360 365Val Ala Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe
Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys370 375 380Ala Gly Val Ala Val Gly Thr
Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His385 390 395 400Val Gly Val Asn
Tyr Glu Trp40511355PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATURENadA allele 1/2
chimera (strain 95330) 11Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr
Thr Ala Ile Leu Ala Thr1 5 10 15Phe Cys Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr
Asn Asp Asp Asp Val Lys Lys20 25 30Ala Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala
Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln Glu Ile35 40 45Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu
Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu Asp Gly50 55 60Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp
Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu
Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr Lys Thr85 90 95Val Asn Glu
Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu100 105 110Ser
Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala115 120
125Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn Ile
Thr130 135 140Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile
Asp Glu Lys145 150 155 160Leu Glu Ala Val Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys
His Ala Glu Ala Phe Asn165 170 175Asp Ile Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu
Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp Glu Ala180 185 190Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu
Ala Lys Gln Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys Gln195 200 205Asn Val Asp Ala
Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala Gly Lys Ala210 215 220Glu Ala
Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala Asn Thr Ala Ala Asp Lys Ala Glu Ala225 230 235
240Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp Ile Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr Asn
Lys245 250 255Ala Asp Ile Ala Lys Asn Ser Ala Arg Ile Asp Ser Leu
Asp Lys Asn260 265 270Val Ala Asn Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly
Leu Ala Glu Gln Ala275 280 285Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr
Asn Val Gly Arg Phe Asn Val290 295 300Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr
Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly305 310 315 320Thr Gly Phe Arg
Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala325 330 335Val Gly
Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn340 345
350Tyr Glu Trp35512357PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATURENadA allele
1/2 chimera (strain 95330) (first-ATG start) 12Met Ser Met Lys His
Phe Pro Ser Lys Val Leu Thr Thr Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Thr Phe Cys
Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Ala Thr Asn Asp Asp Asp Val20 25 30Lys Lys Ala
Ala Thr Val Ala Ile Ala Ala Ala Tyr Asn Asn Gly Gln35 40 45Glu Ile
Asn Gly Phe Lys Ala Gly Glu Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Asp Glu50 55 60Asp
Gly Thr Ile Thr Lys Lys Asp Ala Thr Ala Ala Asp Val Glu Ala65 70 75
80Asp Asp Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu Lys Lys Val Val Thr Asn Leu Thr85
90 95Lys Thr Val Asn Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys
Ala100 105 110Ala Glu Ser Glu Ile Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala
Asp Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Ala Leu Asp Ala Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn
Lys Leu Gly Glu Asn130 135 140Ile Thr Thr Phe Ala Glu Glu Thr Lys
Thr Asn Ile Val Lys Ile Asp145 150 155 160Glu Lys Leu Glu Ala Val
Ala Asp Thr Val Asp Lys His Ala Glu Ala165 170 175Phe Asn Asp Ile
Ala Asp Ser Leu Asp Glu Thr Asn Thr Lys Ala Asp180 185 190Glu Ala
Val Lys Thr Ala Asn Glu Ala Lys Gln Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr195 200
205Lys Gln Asn Val Asp Ala Lys Val Lys Ala Ala Glu Thr Ala Ala
Gly210 215 220Lys Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Gly Thr Ala Asn Thr Ala Ala
Asp Lys Ala225 230 235 240Glu Ala Val Ala Ala Lys Val Thr Asp Ile
Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Thr245 250 255Asn Lys Ala Asp Ile Ala Lys Asn
Ser Ala Arg Ile Asp Ser Leu Asp260 265 270Lys Asn Val Ala Asn Leu
Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala Glu275 280 285Gln Ala Ala Leu
Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly Arg Phe290 295 300Asn Val
Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala305 310 315
320Ile Gly Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala
Gly325 330 335Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr
His Val Gly340 345 350Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp35513323PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATURENadA allele C 13Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Lys Val
Leu Thr Ala Ala Ile Leu Ala Ala1 5 10 15Leu Ser Gly Ser Ala Met Ala
Asp Asn Ala Pro Thr Ala Asp Glu Ile20 25 30Ala Lys Ala Ala Leu Val
Asn Ser Tyr Asn Asn Thr Gln Asp Ile Asn35 40 45Gly Phe Thr Val Gly
Asp Thr Ile Tyr Asp Ile Lys Asn Asp Lys Ile50 55 60Thr Lys Lys Glu
Ala Thr Glu Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp Asp Phe Lys65 70 75 80Gly Leu
Gly Leu Lys Glu Val Val Ala Gln His Asp Gln Ser Leu Ala85 90 95Asp
Leu Thr Glu Thr Val Asn Glu Asn Ser Glu Ala Leu Val Lys Thr100 105
110Ala Ala Val Val Asn Asp Ile Ser Ala Asp Val Lys Ala Asn Thr
Ala115 120 125Ala Ile Gly Glu Asn Lys Ala Ala Ile Ala Thr Lys Ala
Asp Lys Thr130 135 140Glu Leu Asp Lys Val Ser Gly Lys Val Thr Glu
Asn Glu Thr Ala Ile145 150 155 160Gly Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala Asp
Val Tyr Thr Lys Ala Glu Val Tyr165 170 175Thr Lys Gln Glu Ser Asp
Asn Arg Phe Val Lys Ile Ser Asp Gly Ile180 185 190Gly Asn Leu Asn
Thr Thr Ala Asn Gly Leu Glu Thr Arg Leu Ala Ala195 200 205Ala Glu
Gln Ser Val Ala Asp His Gly Thr Arg Leu Ala Ser Ala Glu210 215
220Lys Ser Ile Thr Glu His Gly Thr Arg Leu Asn Gly Leu Asp Arg
Thr225 230 235 240Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu
Ala Glu Gln Ala245 250 255Ala Leu Ser Gly Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn
Val Gly Arg Phe Asn Val260 265 270Thr Ala Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys
Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala Ile Gly275 280 285Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr
Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly Val Ala290 295 300Val Gly Thr Ser
Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val Gly Val Asn305 310 315 320Tyr
Glu Trp14325PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATURENadA allele C
(first-ATG start) 14Met Ser Met Lys His Phe Pro Ser Arg Val Leu Thr
Ala Ala Ile Leu1 5 10 15Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly Ser Ala Met Ala Asp Asn
Ala Pro Thr Ala Asp20 25 30Glu Ile Ala Lys Ala Ala Leu Val Asn Ser
Tyr Asn Asn Thr Gln Asp35 40 45Ile Asn Gly Phe Thr Val Gly Asp Thr
Ile Tyr Asp Ile Lys Asn Asp50 55 60Lys Ile Thr Lys Lys Glu Ala Thr
Glu Ala Asp Val Glu Ala Asp Asp65 70 75 80Phe Lys Gly Leu Gly Leu
Lys Glu Val Val Ala Gln His Asp Gln Ser85 90 95Leu Ala Asp Leu Thr
Glu Thr Val Asn Glu Asn Ser Glu Ala Leu Val100 105 110Lys Thr Ala
Ala Val Val Asn Asp Ile Ser Ala Asp Val Lys Ala Asn115 120 125Thr
Ala Ala Ile Gly Glu Asn Lys Ala Ala Ile Ala Thr Lys Ala Asp130 135
140Lys Thr Glu Leu Asp Lys Val Ser Gly Lys Val Thr Glu Asn Glu
Thr145 150 155 160Ala Ile Gly Lys Lys Ala Asn Ser Ala Asp Val Tyr
Thr Lys Ala Glu165 170 175Val Tyr Thr Lys Gln Glu Ser Asp Asn Arg
Phe Val Lys Ile Ser Asp180
185 190Gly Ile Gly Asn Leu Asn Thr Thr Ala Asn Gly Leu Glu Thr Arg
Leu195 200 205Ala Ala Ala Glu Gln Ser Val Ala Asp His Gly Thr Arg
Leu Ala Ser210 215 220Ala Glu Lys Ser Ile Thr Glu His Gly Thr Arg
Leu Asn Gly Leu Asp225 230 235 240Arg Thr Val Ser Asp Leu Arg Lys
Glu Thr Arg Gln Gly Leu Ala Glu245 250 255Gln Ala Ala Leu Ser Gly
Leu Phe Gln Pro Tyr Asn Val Gly Arg Phe260 265 270Asn Val Thr Ala
Ala Val Gly Gly Tyr Lys Ser Glu Ser Ala Val Ala275 280 285Ile Gly
Thr Gly Phe Arg Phe Thr Glu Asn Phe Ala Ala Lys Ala Gly290 295
300Val Ala Val Gly Thr Ser Ser Gly Ser Ser Ala Ala Tyr His Val
Gly305 310 315 320Val Asn Tyr Glu Trp32515971DNANeisseria
speciesmisc_featurecoding sequence for 8EQ ID 13 15atgaaacact
ttccatccaa agtactgacc gcagccatcc ttgccgccct cagcggcagc 60gcaatggcag
acaacgcccc caccgctgac gaaattgcca aagccgccct agttaactcc
120tacaacaata cccaagacat caacggattc acagtcggag acaccatcta
cgacattaaa 180aatgacaaga ttaccaaaaa agaagcaaca gaagccgatg
ttgaagctga cgactttaaa 240ggtctgggtc tgaaagaagt cgtggctcaa
cacgaccaaa gccttgccga cctgaccgam 300ccgtcaatga aaacagcgaa
gcattggtaa aaaccgccgc ggttgtcaat gacatcagtg 360ccgatgtcaa
agccaacaca gcagctatcg gggaaaacaa agctgctatc gctacaaaag
420cagacaaaac cgaactggat aaagtgtccg gcaaagtaac cgagaacgag
actgctatcg 480gtaaaaaagc aaacagtgcc gacgtgtaca ctaaagctga
ggtgtacacc aaacaagagt 540ctgacaacag atttgtcaaa attagtgacg
gaatcggtaa tctgaacact actgccaatg 600gattggagac acgcttggcc
gctgccgaac aatccgttgc agaccacggt acgcgcttgg 660cttctgccga
aaaatccatt accgaacacg gtacgcgcct gaacggtttg gatagaacag
720tgtcagacct gcgtaaagaa acccgccaag gccttgcaga acaagccgcg
ctctccggtc 780tgttccaacc ttacaacgtg ggtcggttca atgtaacggc
tgcagtcggc ggctacaaat 840ccgaatcggc agtcgccatc ggtaccggct
tccgctttac cgaaaacttt gccgccaaag 900caggcgtggc agtcggcact
tcgtccggtt cttccgcagc ctaccatgtc ggcgtcaatt 960acgagtggta a
9711622DNAArtificialmisc_featureforward primer 16gtcgacgtcc
tcgattacga ag 221722DNAArtificialmisc_featurereverse primer
17cgaggcgatt gtcaaaccgt tc 221832DNAArtificialmisc_featureforward
primer 18cgcggatccg ctagcggaca cacttatttc gg
321929DNAArtificialmisc_featurereverse primer 19cccgctcgag
ccagcggtag cctaatttg 292033DNAArtificialmisc_featureforward primer
20cgcggatccg ctagcaaaac aaccgacaaa cgg
332132DNAArtificialmisc_featurereverse primer 21cccgctcgag
ttaccagcgg tagcctaatt tg 322241DNAArtificialmisc_featuremutagenesis
primer 22ctcatttggc gacgctggct caccaatgtt tatctatgat g
412341DNAArtificialmisc_featuremutagenesis primer 23catcatagat
aaacattggt gagccagcgt cgccaaatga g
412432DNAArtificialmisc_featureforward prmer 24cgcggatccg
ctagcggaca cacttatttc gg 322526DNAArtificialmisc_featurereverse
primer 25cccgctcgag cagcgcgtca aggctt
2626124DNAArtificialmisc_featureforward primer 26gggaattcca
tatgaaagcc aaacgtttta aaattaacgc catatcctta tccatctttc 60ttgcctatgc
ccttacgcca tactcagaag cggctagcga caacgcgcaa agccttgacg 120cgct
1242732DNAArtificialmisc_featurereverse primer 27cccgctcgag
ttaccagcgg tagcctaatt tg 322824DNAArtificialmisc_featureknockout
primer 28gctctagagg aggctgtcga aacc
242926DNAArtificialmisc_featureknockout primer 29tcccccgggc
ggttgtccgt ttgtcg 263027DNAArtificialmisc_featureknockout primer
30tcccccgggg cgggcatcaa attaggc
273127DNAArtificialmisc_featureknockout primer 31cccgctcgag
cgcaaccgtc cgctgac 27321455PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATURESEQ ID
650 from WO99/24578 32Met Lys Thr Thr Asp Lys Arg Thr Thr Glu Thr
His Arg Lys Ala Pro1 5 10 15Lys Thr Gly Arg Ile Arg Phe Ser Pro Ala
Tyr Leu Ala Ile Cys Leu20 25 30Ser Phe Gly Ile Leu Pro Gln Ala Trp
Ala Gly His Thr Tyr Phe Gly35 40 45Ile Asn Tyr Gln Tyr Tyr Arg Asp
Phe Ala Glu Asn Lys Gly Lys Phe50 55 60Ala Val Gly Ala Lys Asp Ile
Glu Val Tyr Asn Lys Lys Gly Glu Leu65 70 75 80Val Gly Lys Ser Met
Thr Lys Ala Pro Met Ile Asp Phe Ser Val Val85 90 95Ser Arg Asn Gly
Val Ala Ala Leu Val Gly Asp Gln Tyr Ile Val Ser100 105 110Val Ala
His Asn Gly Gly Tyr Asn Asn Val Asp Phe Gly Ala Glu Gly115 120
125Arg Asn Pro Asp Gln His Arg Phe Thr Tyr Lys Ile Val Lys Arg
Asn130 135 140Asn Tyr Lys Ala Gly Thr Lys Gly His Pro Tyr Gly Gly
Asp Tyr His145 150 155 160Met Pro Arg Leu His Lys Phe Val Thr Asp
Ala Glu Pro Val Glu Met165 170 175Thr Ser Tyr Met Asp Gly Arg Lys
Tyr Ile Asp Gln Asn Asn Tyr Pro180 185 190Asp Arg Val Arg Ile Gly
Ala Gly Arg Gln Tyr Trp Arg Ser Asp Glu195 200 205Asp Glu Pro Asn
Asn Arg Glu Ser Ser Tyr His Ile Ala Ser Ala Tyr210 215 220Ser Trp
Leu Val Gly Gly Asn Thr Phe Ala Gln Asn Gly Ser Gly Gly225 230 235
240Gly Thr Val Asn Leu Gly Ser Glu Lys Ile Lys His Ser Pro Tyr
Gly245 250 255Phe Leu Pro Thr Gly Gly Ser Phe Gly Asp Ser Gly Ser
Pro Met Phe260 265 270Ile Tyr Asp Ala Gln Lys Gln Lys Trp Leu Ile
Asn Gly Val Leu Gln275 280 285Thr Gly Asn Pro Tyr Ile Gly Lys Ser
Asn Gly Phe Gln Leu Val Arg290 295 300Lys Asp Trp Phe Tyr Asp Glu
Ile Phe Ala Gly Asp Thr His Ser Val305 310 315 320Phe Tyr Glu Pro
Arg Gln Asn Gly Lys Tyr Ser Phe Asn Asp Asp Asn325 330 335Asn Gly
Thr Gly Lys Ile Asn Ala Lys His Glu His Asn Ser Leu Pro340 345
350Asn Arg Leu Lys Thr Arg Thr Val Gln Leu Phe Asn Val Ser Leu
Ser355 360 365Glu Thr Ala Arg Glu Pro Val Tyr His Ala Ala Gly Gly
Val Asn Ser370 375 380Tyr Arg Pro Arg Leu Asn Asn Gly Glu Asn Ile
Ser Phe Ile Asp Glu385 390 395 400Gly Lys Gly Glu Leu Ile Leu Thr
Ser Asn Ile Asn Gln Gly Ala Gly405 410 415Gly Leu Tyr Phe Gln Gly
Asp Phe Thr Val Ser Pro Glu Asn Asn Glu420 425 430Thr Trp Gln Gly
Ala Gly Val His Ile Ser Glu Asp Ser Thr Val Thr435 440 445Trp Lys
Val Asn Gly Val Ala Asn Asp Arg Leu Ser Lys Ile Gly Lys450 455
460Gly Thr Leu His Val Gln Ala Lys Gly Glu Asn Gln Gly Ser Ile
Ser465 470 475 480Val Gly Asp Gly Thr Val Ile Leu Asp Gln Gln Ala
Asp Asp Lys Gly485 490 495Lys Lys Gln Ala Phe Ser Glu Ile Gly Leu
Val Ser Gly Arg Gly Thr500 505 510Val Gln Leu Asn Ala Asp Asn Gln
Phe Asn Pro Asp Lys Leu Tyr Phe515 520 525Gly Phe Arg Gly Gly Arg
Leu Asp Leu Asn Gly His Ser Leu Ser Phe530 535 540His Arg Ile Gln
Asn Thr Asp Glu Gly Ala Met Ile Val Asn His Asn545 550 555 560Gln
Asp Lys Glu Ser Thr Val Thr Ile Thr Gly Asn Lys Asp Ile Ala565 570
575Thr Thr Gly Asn Asn Asn Ser Leu Asp Ser Lys Lys Glu Ile Ala
Tyr580 585 590Asn Gly Trp Phe Gly Glu Lys Asp Thr Thr Lys Thr Asn
Gly Arg Leu595 600 605Asn Leu Val Tyr Gln Pro Ala Ala Glu Asp Arg
Thr Leu Leu Leu Ser610 615 620Gly Gly Thr Asn Leu Asn Gly Asn Ile
Thr Gln Thr Asn Gly Lys Leu625 630 635 640Phe Phe Ser Gly Arg Pro
Thr Pro His Ala Tyr Asn His Leu Asn Asp645 650 655His Trp Ser Gln
Lys Glu Gly Ile Pro Arg Gly Glu Ile Val Trp Asp660 665 670Asn Asp
Trp Ile Asn Arg Thr Phe Lys Ala Glu Asn Phe Gln Ile Lys675 680
685Gly Gly Gln Ala Trp Ser Arg Asn Val Ala Lys Val Lys Gly Asp
Trp690 695 700His Leu Ser Asn His Ala Gln Ala Val Phe Gly Val Ala
Pro His Gln705 710 715 720Ser His Thr Ile Cys Thr Arg Ser Asp Trp
Thr Gly Leu Thr Asn Cys725 730 735Val Glu Lys Thr Ile Thr Asp Asp
Lys Val Ile Ala Ser Leu Thr Lys740 745 750Thr Asp Ile Ser Gly Asn
Val Asp Leu Ala Asp His Ala His Leu Asn755 760 765Leu Thr Gly Leu
Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser Ala Asn Gly Asp770 775 780Thr Arg
Tyr Thr Val Ser His Asn Ala Thr Gln Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser785 790 795
800Leu Val Gly Asn Ala Gln Ala Thr Phe Asn Gln Ala Thr Leu Asn
Gly805 810 815Asn Thr Ser Ala Ser Gly Asn Ala Ser Phe Asn Leu Ser
Asp His Ala820 825 830Val Gln Asn Gly Ser Leu Thr Leu Ser Gly Asn
Ala Lys Ala Asn Val835 840 845Ser His Ser Ala Leu Asn Gly Asn Val
Ser Leu Ala Asp Lys Ala Val850 855 860Phe His Phe Glu Ser Ser Arg
Phe Thr Gly Gln Ile Ser Gly Gly Lys865 870 875 880Asp Thr Ala Leu
His Leu Lys Asp Ser Glu Trp Thr Leu Pro Ser Gly885 890 895Thr Glu
Leu Gly Asn Leu Asn Leu Asp Asn Ala Thr Ile Thr Leu Asn900 905
910Ser Ala Tyr Arg His Asp Ala Ala Gly Ala Gln Thr Gly Ser Ala
Thr915 920 925Asp Ala Pro Arg Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser
Leu Leu Ser930 935 940Val Thr Pro Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Ser Arg Phe
Asn Thr Leu Thr Val945 950 955 960Asn Gly Lys Leu Asn Gly Gln Gly
Thr Phe Arg Phe Met Ser Glu Leu965 970 975Phe Gly Tyr Arg Ser Asp
Lys Leu Lys Leu Ala Glu Ser Ser Glu Gly980 985 990Thr Tyr Thr Leu
Ala Val Asn Asn Thr Gly Asn Glu Pro Ala Ser Leu995 1000 1005Glu Gln
Leu Thr Trp Glu Gly Lys Asp Asn Lys Pro Leu Ser Glu1010 1015
1020Asn Leu Asn Phe Thr Leu Gln Asn Glu His Val Asp Ala Gly Ala1025
1030 1035Trp Arg Tyr Gln Leu Ile Arg Lys Asp Gly Glu Phe Arg Leu
His1040 1045 1050Asn Pro Val Lys Glu Gln Glu Leu Ser Asp Lys Leu
Gly Lys Ala1055 1060 1065Glu Ala Lys Lys Gln Ala Glu Lys Asp Asn
Ala Gln Ser Leu Asp1070 1075 1080Ala Leu Ile Ala Ala Gly Arg Asp
Ala Val Glu Lys Thr Glu Ser1085 1090 1095Val Ala Glu Pro Ala Arg
Gln Ala Gly Gly Glu Asn Val Gly Ile1100 1105 1110Met Gln Ala Glu
Glu Glu Lys Lys Arg Val Gln Ala Asp Lys Asp1115 1120 1125Thr Ala
Leu Ala Lys Gln Arg Glu Ala Glu Thr Arg Pro Ala Thr1130 1135
1140Thr Ala Phe Pro Arg Ala Arg Arg Ala Arg Arg Asp Leu Pro Gln1145
1150 1155Leu Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Arg Asp Leu Ile
Ser1160 1165 1170Arg Tyr Ala Asn Ser Gly Leu Ser Glu Phe Ser Ala
Thr Leu Asn1175 1180 1185Ser Val Phe Ala Val Gln Asp Glu Leu Asp
Arg Val Phe Ala Glu1190 1195 1200Asp Arg Arg Asn Ala Val Trp Thr
Ser Gly Ile Arg Asp Thr Lys1205 1210 1215His Tyr Arg Ser Gln Asp
Phe Arg Ala Tyr Arg Gln Gln Thr Asp1220 1225 1230Leu Arg Gln Ile
Gly Met Gln Lys Asn Leu Gly Ser Gly Arg Val1235 1240 1245Gly Ile
Leu Phe Ser His Asn Arg Thr Glu Asn Thr Phe Asp Asp1250 1255
1260Gly Ile Gly Asn Ser Ala Arg Leu Ala His Gly Ala Val Phe Gly1265
1270 1275Gln Tyr Gly Ile Asp Arg Phe Tyr Ile Gly Ile Ser Ala Gly
Ala1280 1285 1290Gly Phe Ser Ser Gly Ser Leu Ser Asp Gly Ile Gly
Gly Lys Ile1295 1300 1305Arg Arg Arg Val Leu His Tyr Gly Ile Gln
Ala Arg Tyr Arg Ala1310 1315 1320Gly Phe Gly Gly Phe Gly Ile Glu
Pro His Ile Gly Ala Thr Arg1325 1330 1335Tyr Phe Val Gln Lys Ala
Asp Tyr Arg Tyr Glu Asn Val Asn Ile1340 1345 1350Ala Thr Pro Gly
Leu Ala Phe Asn Arg Tyr Arg Ala Gly Ile Lys1355 1360 1365Ala Asp
Tyr Ser Phe Lys Pro Ala Gln His Ile Ser Ile Thr Pro1370 1375
1380Tyr Leu Ser Leu Ser Tyr Thr Asp Ala Ala Ser Gly Lys Val Arg1385
1390 1395Thr Arg Val Asn Thr Ala Val Leu Ala Gln Asp Phe Gly Lys
Thr1400 1405 1410Arg Ser Ala Glu Trp Gly Val Asn Ala Glu Ile Lys
Gly Phe Thr1415 1420 1425Leu Ser Leu His Ala Ala Ala Ala Lys Gly
Pro Gln Leu Glu Ala1430 1435 1440Gln His Ser Ala Gly Ile Lys Leu
Gly Tyr Arg Trp1445 1450 145533956PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATUREApp domain derivative 33Met Lys Thr Thr Asp Lys
Arg Thr Thr Glu Thr His Arg Lys Ala Pro1 5 10 15Lys Thr Gly Arg Ile
Arg Phe Ser Pro Ala Tyr Leu Ala Ile Cys Leu20 25 30Ser Phe Gly Ile
Leu Pro Gln Ala Trp Ala Gly His Thr Tyr Phe Gly35 40 45Ile Asn Tyr
Gln Tyr Tyr Arg Asp Phe Ala Glu Asn Lys Gly Lys Phe50 55 60Ala Val
Gly Ala Lys Asp Ile Glu Val Tyr Asn Lys Lys Gly Glu Leu65 70 75
80Val Gly Lys Ser Met Thr Lys Ala Pro Met Ile Asp Phe Ser Val Val85
90 95Ser Arg Asn Gly Val Ala Ala Leu Val Gly Asp Gln Tyr Ile Val
Ser100 105 110Val Ala His Asn Gly Gly Tyr Asn Asn Val Asp Phe Gly
Ala Glu Gly115 120 125Arg Asn Pro Asp Gln His Arg Phe Thr Tyr Lys
Ile Val Lys Arg Asn130 135 140Asn Tyr Lys Ala Gly Thr Lys Gly His
Pro Tyr Gly Gly Asp Tyr His145 150 155 160Met Pro Arg Leu His Lys
Phe Val Thr Asp Ala Glu Pro Val Glu Met165 170 175Thr Ser Tyr Met
Asp Gly Arg Lys Tyr Ile Asp Gln Asn Asn Tyr Pro180 185 190Asp Arg
Val Arg Ile Gly Ala Gly Arg Gln Tyr Trp Arg Ser Asp Glu195 200
205Asp Glu Pro Asn Asn Arg Glu Ser Ser Tyr His Ile Ala Ser Ala
Tyr210 215 220Ser Trp Leu Val Gly Gly Asn Thr Phe Ala Gln Asn Gly
Ser Gly Gly225 230 235 240Gly Thr Val Asn Leu Gly Ser Glu Lys Ile
Lys His Ser Pro Tyr Gly245 250 255Phe Leu Pro Thr Gly Gly Ser Phe
Gly Asp Ser Gly Ser Pro Met Phe260 265 270Ile Tyr Asp Ala Gln Lys
Gln Lys Trp Leu Ile Asn Gly Val Leu Gln275 280 285Thr Gly Asn Pro
Tyr Ile Gly Lys Ser Asn Gly Phe Gln Leu Val Arg290 295 300Lys Asp
Trp Phe Tyr Asp Glu Ile Phe Ala Gly Asp Thr His Ser Val305 310 315
320Phe Tyr Glu Pro Arg Gln Asn Gly Lys Tyr Ser Phe Asn Asp Asp
Asn325 330 335Asn Gly Thr Gly Lys Ile Asn Ala Lys His Glu His Asn
Ser Leu Pro340 345 350Asn Arg Leu Lys Thr Arg Thr Val Gln Leu Phe
Asn Val Ser Leu Ser355 360 365Glu Thr Ala Arg Glu Pro Val Tyr His
Ala Ala Gly Gly Val Asn Ser370 375 380Tyr Arg Pro Arg Leu Asn Asn
Gly Glu Asn Ile Ser Phe Ile Asp Glu385 390 395 400Gly Lys Gly Glu
Leu Ile Leu Thr Ser Asn Ile Asn Gln Gly Ala Gly405 410 415Gly Leu
Tyr Phe Gln Gly Asp Phe Thr Val Ser Pro Glu Asn Asn Glu420 425
430Thr Trp Gln Gly Ala Gly Val His Ile Ser Glu Asp Ser Thr Val
Thr435 440 445Trp Lys Val Asn Gly Val Ala Asn Asp Arg Leu Ser Lys
Ile Gly Lys450 455 460Gly Thr Leu His Val Gln Ala Lys Gly Glu Asn
Gln
Gly Ser Ile Ser465 470 475 480Val Gly Asp Gly Thr Val Ile Leu Asp
Gln Gln Ala Asp Asp Lys Gly485 490 495Lys Lys Gln Ala Phe Ser Glu
Ile Gly Leu Val Ser Gly Arg Gly Thr500 505 510Val Gln Leu Asn Ala
Asp Asn Gln Phe Asn Pro Asp Lys Leu Tyr Phe515 520 525Gly Phe Arg
Gly Gly Arg Leu Asp Leu Asn Gly His Ser Leu Ser Phe530 535 540His
Arg Ile Gln Asn Thr Asp Glu Gly Ala Met Ile Val Asn His Asn545 550
555 560Gln Asp Lys Glu Ser Thr Val Thr Ile Thr Gly Asn Lys Asp Ile
Ala565 570 575Thr Thr Gly Asn Asn Asn Ser Leu Asp Ser Lys Lys Glu
Ile Ala Tyr580 585 590Asn Gly Trp Phe Gly Glu Lys Asp Thr Thr Lys
Thr Asn Gly Arg Leu595 600 605Asn Leu Val Tyr Gln Pro Ala Ala Glu
Asp Arg Thr Leu Leu Leu Ser610 615 620Gly Gly Thr Asn Leu Asn Gly
Asn Ile Thr Gln Thr Asn Gly Lys Leu625 630 635 640Phe Phe Ser Gly
Arg Pro Thr Pro His Ala Tyr Asn His Leu Asn Asp645 650 655His Trp
Ser Gln Lys Glu Gly Ile Pro Arg Gly Glu Ile Val Trp Asp660 665
670Asn Asp Trp Ile Asn Arg Thr Phe Lys Ala Glu Asn Phe Gln Ile
Lys675 680 685Gly Gly Gln Ala Val Val Ser Arg Asn Val Ala Lys Val
Lys Gly Asp690 695 700Trp His Leu Ser Asn His Ala Gln Ala Val Phe
Gly Val Ala Pro His705 710 715 720Gln Ser His Thr Ile Cys Thr Arg
Ser Asp Trp Thr Gly Leu Thr Asn725 730 735Cys Val Glu Lys Thr Ile
Thr Asp Asp Lys Val Ile Ala Ser Leu Thr740 745 750Lys Thr Asp Ile
Ser Gly Asn Val Asp Leu Ala Asp His Ala His Leu755 760 765Asn Leu
Thr Gly Leu Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser Ala Asn Gly770 775
780Asp Thr Arg Tyr Thr Val Ser His Asn Ala Thr Gln Asn Gly Asn
Leu785 790 795 800Ser Leu Val Gly Asn Ala Gln Ala Thr Phe Asn Gln
Ala Thr Leu Asn805 810 815Gly Asn Thr Ser Ala Ser Gly Asn Ala Ser
Phe Asn Leu Ser Asp His820 825 830Ala Val Gln Asn Gly Ser Leu Thr
Leu Ser Gly Asn Ala Lys Ala Asn835 840 845Val Ser His Ser Ala Leu
Asn Gly Asn Val Ser Leu Ala Asp Lys Ala850 855 860Val Phe His Phe
Glu Ser Ser Arg Phe Thr Gly Gln Ile Ser Gly Gly865 870 875 880Lys
Asp Thr Ala Leu His Leu Lys Asp Ser Glu Trp Thr Leu Pro Ser885 890
895Gly Thr Glu Leu Gly Asn Leu Asn Leu Asp Asn Ala Thr Ile Thr
Leu900 905 910Asn Ser Ala Tyr Arg His Asp Ala Ala Gly Ala Gln Thr
Gly Ser Ala915 920 925Thr Asp Ala Pro Arg Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser
Arg Arg Ser Leu Leu930 935 940Ser Val Thr Pro Pro Thr Ser Val Glu
Ser Arg Phe945 950 955341178PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREApp
domain derivative 34Met Lys Thr Thr Asp Lys Arg Thr Thr Glu Thr His
Arg Lys Ala Pro1 5 10 15Lys Thr Gly Arg Ile Arg Phe Ser Pro Ala Tyr
Leu Ala Ile Cys Leu20 25 30Ser Phe Gly Ile Leu Pro Gln Ala Trp Ala
Gly His Thr Tyr Phe Gly35 40 45Ile Asn Tyr Gln Tyr Tyr Arg Asp Phe
Ala Glu Asn Lys Gly Lys Phe50 55 60Ala Val Gly Ala Lys Asp Ile Glu
Val Tyr Asn Lys Lys Gly Glu Leu65 70 75 80Val Gly Lys Ser Met Thr
Lys Ala Pro Met Ile Asp Phe Ser Val Val85 90 95Ser Arg Asn Gly Val
Ala Ala Leu Val Gly Asp Gln Tyr Ile Val Ser100 105 110Val Ala His
Asn Gly Gly Tyr Asn Asn Val Asp Phe Gly Ala Glu Gly115 120 125Arg
Asn Pro Asp Gln His Arg Phe Thr Tyr Lys Ile Val Lys Arg Asn130 135
140Asn Tyr Lys Ala Gly Thr Lys Gly His Pro Tyr Gly Gly Asp Tyr
His145 150 155 160Met Pro Arg Leu His Lys Phe Val Thr Asp Ala Glu
Pro Val Glu Met165 170 175Thr Ser Tyr Met Asp Gly Arg Lys Tyr Ile
Asp Gln Asn Asn Tyr Pro180 185 190Asp Arg Val Arg Ile Gly Ala Gly
Arg Gln Tyr Trp Arg Ser Asp Glu195 200 205Asp Glu Pro Asn Asn Arg
Glu Ser Ser Tyr His Ile Ala Ser Ala Tyr210 215 220Ser Trp Leu Val
Gly Gly Asn Thr Phe Ala Gln Asn Gly Ser Gly Gly225 230 235 240Gly
Thr Val Asn Leu Gly Ser Glu Lys Ile Lys His Ser Pro Tyr Gly245 250
255Phe Leu Pro Thr Gly Gly Ser Phe Gly Asp Ser Gly Ser Pro Met
Phe260 265 270Ile Tyr Asp Ala Gln Lys Gln Lys Trp Leu Ile Asn Gly
Val Leu Gln275 280 285Thr Gly Asn Pro Tyr Ile Gly Lys Ser Asn Gly
Phe Gln Leu Val Arg290 295 300Lys Asp Trp Phe Tyr Asp Glu Ile Phe
Ala Gly Asp Thr His Ser Val305 310 315 320Phe Tyr Glu Pro Arg Gln
Asn Gly Lys Tyr Ser Phe Asn Asp Asp Asn325 330 335Asn Gly Thr Gly
Lys Ile Asn Ala Lys His Glu His Asn Ser Leu Pro340 345 350Asn Arg
Leu Lys Thr Arg Thr Val Gln Leu Phe Asn Val Ser Leu Ser355 360
365Glu Thr Ala Arg Glu Pro Val Tyr His Ala Ala Gly Gly Val Asn
Ser370 375 380Tyr Arg Pro Arg Leu Asn Asn Gly Glu Asn Ile Ser Phe
Ile Asp Glu385 390 395 400Gly Lys Gly Glu Leu Ile Leu Thr Ser Asn
Ile Asn Gln Gly Ala Gly405 410 415Gly Leu Tyr Phe Gln Gly Asp Phe
Thr Val Ser Pro Glu Asn Asn Glu420 425 430Thr Trp Gln Gly Ala Gly
Val His Ile Ser Glu Asp Ser Thr Val Thr435 440 445Trp Lys Val Asn
Gly Val Ala Asn Asp Arg Leu Ser Lys Ile Gly Lys450 455 460Gly Thr
Leu His Val Gln Ala Lys Gly Glu Asn Gln Gly Ser Ile Ser465 470 475
480Val Gly Asp Gly Thr Val Ile Leu Asp Gln Gln Ala Asp Asp Lys
Gly485 490 495Lys Lys Gln Ala Phe Ser Glu Ile Gly Leu Val Ser Gly
Arg Gly Thr500 505 510Val Gln Leu Asn Ala Asp Asn Gln Phe Asn Pro
Asp Lys Leu Tyr Phe515 520 525Gly Phe Arg Gly Gly Arg Leu Asp Leu
Asn Gly His Ser Leu Ser Phe530 535 540His Arg Ile Gln Asn Thr Asp
Glu Gly Ala Met Ile Val Asn His Asn545 550 555 560Gln Asp Lys Glu
Ser Thr Val Thr Ile Thr Gly Asn Lys Asp Ile Ala565 570 575Thr Thr
Gly Asn Asn Asn Ser Leu Asp Ser Lys Lys Glu Ile Ala Tyr580 585
590Asn Gly Trp Phe Gly Glu Lys Asp Thr Thr Lys Thr Asn Gly Arg
Leu595 600 605Asn Leu Val Tyr Gln Pro Ala Ala Glu Asp Arg Thr Leu
Leu Leu Ser610 615 620Gly Gly Thr Asn Leu Asn Gly Asn Ile Thr Gln
Thr Asn Gly Lys Leu625 630 635 640Phe Phe Ser Gly Arg Pro Thr Pro
His Ala Tyr Asn His Leu Asn Asp645 650 655His Trp Ser Gln Lys Glu
Gly Ile Pro Arg Gly Glu Ile Val Trp Asp660 665 670Asn Asp Trp Ile
Asn Arg Thr Phe Lys Ala Glu Asn Phe Gln Ile Lys675 680 685Gly Gly
Gln Ala Val Val Ser Arg Asn Val Ala Lys Val Lys Gly Asp690 695
700Trp His Leu Ser Asn His Ala Gln Ala Val Phe Gly Val Ala Pro
His705 710 715 720Gln Ser His Thr Ile Cys Thr Arg Ser Asp Trp Thr
Gly Leu Thr Asn725 730 735Cys Val Glu Lys Thr Ile Thr Asp Asp Lys
Val Ile Ala Ser Leu Thr740 745 750Lys Thr Asp Ile Ser Gly Asn Val
Asp Leu Ala Asp His Ala His Leu755 760 765Asn Leu Thr Gly Leu Ala
Thr Leu Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser Ala Asn Gly770 775 780Asp Thr Arg Tyr
Thr Val Ser His Asn Ala Thr Gln Asn Gly Asn Leu785 790 795 800Ser
Leu Val Gly Asn Ala Gln Ala Thr Phe Asn Gln Ala Thr Leu Asn805 810
815Gly Asn Thr Ser Ala Ser Gly Asn Ala Ser Phe Asn Leu Ser Asp
His820 825 830Ala Val Gln Asn Gly Ser Leu Thr Leu Ser Gly Asn Ala
Lys Ala Asn835 840 845Val Ser His Ser Ala Leu Asn Gly Asn Val Ser
Leu Ala Asp Lys Ala850 855 860Val Phe His Phe Glu Ser Ser Arg Phe
Thr Gly Gln Ile Ser Gly Gly865 870 875 880Lys Asp Thr Ala Leu His
Leu Lys Asp Ser Glu Trp Thr Leu Pro Ser885 890 895Gly Thr Glu Leu
Gly Asn Leu Asn Leu Asp Asn Ala Thr Ile Thr Leu900 905 910Asn Ser
Ala Tyr Arg His Asp Ala Ala Gly Ala Gln Thr Gly Ser Ala915 920
925Thr Asp Ala Pro Arg Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser Leu
Leu930 935 940Ser Val Thr Pro Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Ser Arg Phe Asn
Thr Leu Thr945 950 955 960Val Asn Gly Lys Leu Asn Gly Gln Gly Thr
Phe Arg Phe Met Ser Glu965 970 975Leu Phe Gly Tyr Arg Ser Asp Lys
Leu Lys Leu Ala Glu Ser Ser Glu980 985 990Gly Thr Tyr Thr Leu Ala
Val Asn Asn Thr Gly Asn Glu Pro Ala Ser995 1000 1005Leu Glu Gln Leu
Thr Val Val Glu Gly Lys Asp Asn Lys Pro Leu1010 1015 1020Ser Glu
Asn Leu Asn Phe Thr Leu Gln Asn Glu His Val Asp Ala1025 1030
1035Gly Ala Trp Arg Tyr Gln Leu Ile Arg Lys Asp Gly Glu Phe Arg1040
1045 1050Leu His Asn Pro Val Lys Glu Gln Glu Leu Ser Asp Lys Leu
Gly1055 1060 1065Lys Ala Glu Ala Lys Lys Gln Ala Glu Lys Asp Asn
Ala Gln Ser1070 1075 1080Leu Asp Ala Leu Ile Ala Ala Gly Arg Asp
Ala Val Glu Lys Thr1085 1090 1095Glu Ser Val Ala Glu Pro Ala Arg
Gln Ala Gly Gly Glu Asn Val1100 1105 1110Gly Ile Met Gln Ala Glu
Glu Glu Lys Lys Arg Val Gln Ala Asp1115 1120 1125Lys Asp Thr Ala
Leu Ala Lys Gln Arg Glu Ala Glu Thr Arg Pro1130 1135 1140Ala Thr
Thr Ala Phe Pro Arg Ala Arg Arg Ala Arg Arg Asp Leu1145 1150
1155Pro Gln Leu Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Arg Asp Leu1160
1165 1170Ile Ser Arg Tyr Ala117535914PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATUREApp domain derivative 35Gly His Thr Tyr Phe Gly
Ile Asn Tyr Gln Tyr Tyr Arg Asp Phe Ala1 5 10 15Glu Asn Lys Gly Lys
Phe Ala Val Gly Ala Lys Asp Ile Glu Val Tyr20 25 30Asn Lys Lys Gly
Glu Leu Val Gly Lys Ser Met Thr Lys Ala Pro Met35 40 45Ile Asp Phe
Ser Val Val Ser Arg Asn Gly Val Ala Ala Leu Val Gly50 55 60Asp Gln
Tyr Ile Val Ser Val Ala His Asn Gly Gly Tyr Asn Asn Val65 70 75
80Asp Phe Gly Ala Glu Gly Arg Asn Pro Asp Gln His Arg Phe Thr Tyr85
90 95Lys Ile Val Lys Arg Asn Asn Tyr Lys Ala Gly Thr Lys Gly His
Pro100 105 110Tyr Gly Gly Asp Tyr His Met Pro Arg Leu His Lys Phe
Val Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Glu Pro Val Glu Met Thr Ser Tyr Met Asp
Gly Arg Lys Tyr Ile130 135 140Asp Gln Asn Asn Tyr Pro Asp Arg Val
Arg Ile Gly Ala Gly Arg Gln145 150 155 160Tyr Trp Arg Ser Asp Glu
Asp Glu Pro Asn Asn Arg Glu Ser Ser Tyr165 170 175His Ile Ala Ser
Ala Tyr Ser Trp Leu Val Gly Gly Asn Thr Phe Ala180 185 190Gln Asn
Gly Ser Gly Gly Gly Thr Val Asn Leu Gly Ser Glu Lys Ile195 200
205Lys His Ser Pro Tyr Gly Phe Leu Pro Thr Gly Gly Ser Phe Gly
Asp210 215 220Ser Gly Ser Pro Met Phe Ile Tyr Asp Ala Gln Lys Gln
Lys Trp Leu225 230 235 240Ile Asn Gly Val Leu Gln Thr Gly Asn Pro
Tyr Ile Gly Lys Ser Asn245 250 255Gly Phe Gln Leu Val Arg Lys Asp
Trp Phe Tyr Asp Glu Ile Phe Ala260 265 270Gly Asp Thr His Ser Val
Phe Tyr Glu Pro Arg Gln Asn Gly Lys Tyr275 280 285Ser Phe Asn Asp
Asp Asn Asn Gly Thr Gly Lys Ile Asn Ala Lys His290 295 300Glu His
Asn Ser Leu Pro Asn Arg Leu Lys Thr Arg Thr Val Gln Leu305 310 315
320Phe Asn Val Ser Leu Ser Glu Thr Ala Arg Glu Pro Val Tyr His
Ala325 330 335Ala Gly Gly Val Asn Ser Tyr Arg Pro Arg Leu Asn Asn
Gly Glu Asn340 345 350Ile Ser Phe Ile Asp Glu Gly Lys Gly Glu Leu
Ile Leu Thr Ser Asn355 360 365Ile Asn Gln Gly Ala Gly Gly Leu Tyr
Phe Gln Gly Asp Phe Thr Val370 375 380Ser Pro Glu Asn Asn Glu Thr
Trp Gln Gly Ala Gly Val His Ile Ser385 390 395 400Glu Asp Ser Thr
Val Thr Trp Lys Val Asn Gly Val Ala Asn Asp Arg405 410 415Leu Ser
Lys Ile Gly Lys Gly Thr Leu His Val Gln Ala Lys Gly Glu420 425
430Asn Gln Gly Ser Ile Ser Val Gly Asp Gly Thr Val Ile Leu Asp
Gln435 440 445Gln Ala Asp Asp Lys Gly Lys Lys Gln Ala Phe Ser Glu
Ile Gly Leu450 455 460Val Ser Gly Arg Gly Thr Val Gln Leu Asn Ala
Asp Asn Gln Phe Asn465 470 475 480Pro Asp Lys Leu Tyr Phe Gly Phe
Arg Gly Gly Arg Leu Asp Leu Asn485 490 495Gly His Ser Leu Ser Phe
His Arg Ile Gln Asn Thr Asp Glu Gly Ala500 505 510Met Ile Val Asn
His Asn Gln Asp Lys Glu Ser Thr Val Thr Ile Thr515 520 525Gly Asn
Lys Asp Ile Ala Thr Thr Gly Asn Asn Asn Ser Leu Asp Ser530 535
540Lys Lys Glu Ile Ala Tyr Asn Gly Trp Phe Gly Glu Lys Asp Thr
Thr545 550 555 560Lys Thr Asn Gly Arg Leu Asn Leu Val Tyr Gln Pro
Ala Ala Glu Asp565 570 575Arg Thr Leu Leu Leu Ser Gly Gly Thr Asn
Leu Asn Gly Asn Ile Thr580 585 590Gln Thr Asn Gly Lys Leu Phe Phe
Ser Gly Arg Pro Thr Pro His Ala595 600 605Tyr Asn His Leu Asn Asp
His Trp Ser Gln Lys Glu Gly Ile Pro Arg610 615 620Gly Glu Ile Val
Trp Asp Asn Asp Trp Ile Asn Arg Thr Phe Lys Ala625 630 635 640Glu
Asn Phe Gln Ile Lys Gly Gly Gln Ala Val Val Ser Arg Asn Val645 650
655Ala Lys Val Lys Gly Asp Trp His Leu Ser Asn His Ala Gln Ala
Val660 665 670Phe Gly Val Ala Pro His Gln Ser His Thr Ile Cys Thr
Arg Ser Asp675 680 685Trp Thr Gly Leu Thr Asn Cys Val Glu Lys Thr
Ile Thr Asp Asp Lys690 695 700Val Ile Ala Ser Leu Thr Lys Thr Asp
Ile Ser Gly Asn Val Asp Leu705 710 715 720Ala Asp His Ala His Leu
Asn Leu Thr Gly Leu Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly725 730 735Asn Leu Ser Ala
Asn Gly Asp Thr Arg Tyr Thr Val Ser His Asn Ala740 745 750Thr Gln
Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser Leu Val Gly Asn Ala Gln Ala Thr Phe755 760
765Asn Gln Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly Asn Thr Ser Ala Ser Gly Asn Ala
Ser770 775 780Phe Asn Leu Ser Asp His Ala Val Gln Asn Gly Ser Leu
Thr Leu Ser785 790 795 800Gly Asn Ala Lys Ala Asn Val Ser His Ser
Ala Leu Asn Gly Asn Val805 810 815Ser Leu Ala Asp Lys Ala Val Phe
His Phe Glu Ser Ser Arg Phe Thr820 825 830Gly Gln Ile Ser Gly Gly
Lys Asp Thr Ala Leu His Leu Lys Asp Ser835 840 845Glu Trp Thr Leu
Pro Ser Gly Thr Glu Leu Gly Asn Leu Asn Leu Asp850 855 860Asn Ala
Thr Ile Thr Leu Asn Ser Ala Tyr Arg His Asp Ala Ala Gly865 870 875
880Ala Gln Thr Gly Ser Ala Thr Asp Ala Pro Arg Arg Arg Ser Arg
Arg885 890 895Ser Arg Arg Ser Leu Leu Ser Val Thr Pro Pro Thr Ser
Val Glu Ser900 905 910Arg Phe361136PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATUREApp domain derivative 36Gly His Thr Tyr Phe Gly
Ile Asn Tyr Gln Tyr Tyr Arg Asp Phe Ala1 5 10 15Glu Asn Lys Gly Lys
Phe Ala Val Gly Ala Lys Asp Ile Glu Val Tyr20 25 30Asn Lys Lys Gly
Glu Leu Val Gly Lys Ser Met Thr Lys Ala Pro Met35
40 45Ile Asp Phe Ser Val Val Ser Arg Asn Gly Val Ala Ala Leu Val
Gly50 55 60Asp Gln Tyr Ile Val Ser Val Ala His Asn Gly Gly Tyr Asn
Asn Val65 70 75 80Asp Phe Gly Ala Glu Gly Arg Asn Pro Asp Gln His
Arg Phe Thr Tyr85 90 95Lys Ile Val Lys Arg Asn Asn Tyr Lys Ala Gly
Thr Lys Gly His Pro100 105 110Tyr Gly Gly Asp Tyr His Met Pro Arg
Leu His Lys Phe Val Thr Asp115 120 125Ala Glu Pro Val Glu Met Thr
Ser Tyr Met Asp Gly Arg Lys Tyr Ile130 135 140Asp Gln Asn Asn Tyr
Pro Asp Arg Val Arg Ile Gly Ala Gly Arg Gln145 150 155 160Tyr Trp
Arg Ser Asp Glu Asp Glu Pro Asn Asn Arg Glu Ser Ser Tyr165 170
175His Ile Ala Ser Ala Tyr Ser Trp Leu Val Gly Gly Asn Thr Phe
Ala180 185 190Gln Asn Gly Ser Gly Gly Gly Thr Val Asn Leu Gly Ser
Glu Lys Ile195 200 205Lys His Ser Pro Tyr Gly Phe Leu Pro Thr Gly
Gly Ser Phe Gly Asp210 215 220Ser Gly Ser Pro Met Phe Ile Tyr Asp
Ala Gln Lys Gln Lys Trp Leu225 230 235 240Ile Asn Gly Val Leu Gln
Thr Gly Asn Pro Tyr Ile Gly Lys Ser Asn245 250 255Gly Phe Gln Leu
Val Arg Lys Asp Trp Phe Tyr Asp Glu Ile Phe Ala260 265 270Gly Asp
Thr His Ser Val Phe Tyr Glu Pro Arg Gln Asn Gly Lys Tyr275 280
285Ser Phe Asn Asp Asp Asn Asn Gly Thr Gly Lys Ile Asn Ala Lys
His290 295 300Glu His Asn Ser Leu Pro Asn Arg Leu Lys Thr Arg Thr
Val Gln Leu305 310 315 320Phe Asn Val Ser Leu Ser Glu Thr Ala Arg
Glu Pro Val Tyr His Ala325 330 335Ala Gly Gly Val Asn Ser Tyr Arg
Pro Arg Leu Asn Asn Gly Glu Asn340 345 350Ile Ser Phe Ile Asp Glu
Gly Lys Gly Glu Leu Ile Leu Thr Ser Asn355 360 365Ile Asn Gln Gly
Ala Gly Gly Leu Tyr Phe Gln Gly Asp Phe Thr Val370 375 380Ser Pro
Glu Asn Asn Glu Thr Trp Gln Gly Ala Gly Val His Ile Ser385 390 395
400Glu Asp Ser Thr Val Thr Trp Lys Val Asn Gly Val Ala Asn Asp
Arg405 410 415Leu Ser Lys Ile Gly Lys Gly Thr Leu His Val Gln Ala
Lys Gly Glu420 425 430Asn Gln Gly Ser Ile Ser Val Gly Asp Gly Thr
Val Ile Leu Asp Gln435 440 445Gln Ala Asp Asp Lys Gly Lys Lys Gln
Ala Phe Ser Glu Ile Gly Leu450 455 460Val Ser Gly Arg Gly Thr Val
Gln Leu Asn Ala Asp Asn Gln Phe Asn465 470 475 480Pro Asp Lys Leu
Tyr Phe Gly Phe Arg Gly Gly Arg Leu Asp Leu Asn485 490 495Gly His
Ser Leu Ser Phe His Arg Ile Gln Asn Thr Asp Glu Gly Ala500 505
510Met Ile Val Asn His Asn Gln Asp Lys Glu Ser Thr Val Thr Ile
Thr515 520 525Gly Asn Lys Asp Ile Ala Thr Thr Gly Asn Asn Asn Ser
Leu Asp Ser530 535 540Lys Lys Glu Ile Ala Tyr Asn Gly Trp Phe Gly
Glu Lys Asp Thr Thr545 550 555 560Lys Thr Asn Gly Arg Leu Asn Leu
Val Tyr Gln Pro Ala Ala Glu Asp565 570 575Arg Thr Leu Leu Leu Ser
Gly Gly Thr Asn Leu Asn Gly Asn Ile Thr580 585 590Gln Thr Asn Gly
Lys Leu Phe Phe Ser Gly Arg Pro Thr Pro His Ala595 600 605Tyr Asn
His Leu Asn Asp His Trp Ser Gln Lys Glu Gly Ile Pro Arg610 615
620Gly Glu Ile Val Trp Asp Asn Asp Trp Ile Asn Arg Thr Phe Lys
Ala625 630 635 640Glu Asn Phe Gln Ile Lys Gly Gly Gln Ala Val Val
Ser Arg Asn Val645 650 655Ala Lys Val Lys Gly Asp Trp His Leu Ser
Asn His Ala Gln Ala Val660 665 670Phe Gly Val Ala Pro His Gln Ser
His Thr Ile Cys Thr Arg Ser Asp675 680 685Trp Thr Gly Leu Thr Asn
Cys Val Glu Lys Thr Ile Thr Asp Asp Lys690 695 700Val Ile Ala Ser
Leu Thr Lys Thr Asp Ile Ser Gly Asn Val Asp Leu705 710 715 720Ala
Asp His Ala His Leu Asn Leu Thr Gly Leu Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly725 730
735Asn Leu Ser Ala Asn Gly Asp Thr Arg Tyr Thr Val Ser His Asn
Ala740 745 750Thr Gln Asn Gly Asn Leu Ser Leu Val Gly Asn Ala Gln
Ala Thr Phe755 760 765Asn Gln Ala Thr Leu Asn Gly Asn Thr Ser Ala
Ser Gly Asn Ala Ser770 775 780Phe Asn Leu Ser Asp His Ala Val Gln
Asn Gly Ser Leu Thr Leu Ser785 790 795 800Gly Asn Ala Lys Ala Asn
Val Ser His Ser Ala Leu Asn Gly Asn Val805 810 815Ser Leu Ala Asp
Lys Ala Val Phe His Phe Glu Ser Ser Arg Phe Thr820 825 830Gly Gln
Ile Ser Gly Gly Lys Asp Thr Ala Leu His Leu Lys Asp Ser835 840
845Glu Trp Thr Leu Pro Ser Gly Thr Glu Leu Gly Asn Leu Asn Leu
Asp850 855 860Asn Ala Thr Ile Thr Leu Asn Ser Ala Tyr Arg His Asp
Ala Ala Gly865 870 875 880Ala Gln Arg Gly Ser Ala Thr Asp Ala Pro
Arg Arg Arg Ser Arg Arg885 890 895Ser Arg Arg Ser Leu Leu Ser Val
Thr Pro Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Ser900 905 910Arg Phe Asn Thr Leu Thr
Val Asn Gly Lys Leu Asn Gly Gln Gly Thr915 920 925Phe Arg Phe Met
Ser Glu Leu Phe Gly Tyr Arg Ser Asp Lys Leu Lys930 935 940Leu Ala
Glu Ser Ser Glu Gly Thr Tyr Thr Leu Ala Val Asn Asn Thr945 950 955
960Gly Asn Glu Pro Ala Ser Leu Glu Gln Leu Thr Val Val Glu Gly
Lys965 970 975Asp Asn Lys Pro Leu Ser Glu Asn Leu Asn Phe Thr Leu
Gln Asn Glu980 985 990His Val Asp Ala Gly Ala Trp Arg Tyr Gln Leu
Ile Arg Lys Asp Gly995 1000 1005Glu Phe Arg Leu His Asn Pro Val Lys
Glu Gln Glu Leu Ser Asp1010 1015 1020Lys Leu Gly Lys Ala Glu Ala
Lys Lys Gln Ala Glu Lys Asp Asn1025 1030 1035Ala Gln Ser Leu Asp
Ala Leu Ile Ala Ala Gly Arg Asp Ala Val1040 1045 1050Glu Lys Thr
Glu Ser Val Ala Glu Pro Ala Arg Gln Ala Gly Gly1055 1060 1065Glu
Asn Val Gly Ile Met Gln Ala Glu Glu Glu Lys Lys Arg Val1070 1075
1080Gln Ala Asp Lys Asp Thr Ala Leu Ala Lys Gln Arg Glu Ala Glu1085
1090 1095Thr Arg Pro Ala Thr Thr Ala Phe Pro Arg Ala Arg Arg Ala
Arg1100 1105 1110Arg Asp Leu Pro Gln Leu Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro
Gln Pro Gln1115 1120 1125Arg Asp Leu Ile Ser Arg Tyr Ala1130
113537221PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREApp domain derivative
37Asn Thr Leu Thr Val Asn Gly Lys Leu Asn Gly Gln Gly Thr Phe Arg1
5 10 15Phe Met Ser Glu Leu Phe Gly Tyr Arg Ser Asp Lys Leu Lys Leu
Ala20 25 30Glu Ser Ser Glu Gly Thr Tyr Thr Leu Ala Val Asn Asn Thr
Gly Asn35 40 45Glu Pro Ala Ser Leu Glu Gln Leu Thr Trp Glu Gly Lys
Asp Asn Lys50 55 60Pro Leu Ser Glu Asn Leu Asn Phe Thr Leu Gln Asn
Glu His Val Asp65 70 75 80Ala Gly Ala Trp Arg Tyr Gln Leu Ile Arg
Lys Asp Gly Glu Phe Arg85 90 95Leu His Asn Pro Val Lys Glu Gln Glu
Leu Ser Asp Lys Leu Gly Lys100 105 110Ala Glu Ala Lys Lys Gln Ala
Glu Lys Asp Asn Ala Gln Ser Leu Asp115 120 125Ala Leu Ile Ala Ala
Gly Arg Asp Ala Val Glu Lys Thr Glu Ser Val130 135 140Ala Glu Pro
Ala Arg Gln Ala Gly Gly Glu Asn Val Gly Ile Met Gln145 150 155
160Ala Glu Glu Glu Lys Lys Arg Val Gln Ala Asp Lys Asp Thr Ala
Leu165 170 175Ala Lys Gln Arg Glu Ala Glu Thr Arg Pro Ala Thr Thr
Ala Phe Pro180 185 190Arg Ala Arg Arg Ala Arg Arg Asp Leu Pro Gln
Leu Gln Pro Gln Pro195 200 205Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Arg Asp Leu Ile
Ser Arg Tyr Ala210 215 22038279PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREApp
domain derivative 38Asn Ser Gly Leu Ser Glu Phe Ser Ala Thr Leu Asn
Ser Val Phe Ala1 5 10 15Val Gln Asp Glu Leu Asp Arg Val Phe Ala Glu
Asp Arg Arg Asn Ala20 25 30Val Trp Thr Ser Gly Ile Arg Asp Thr Lys
His Tyr Arg Ser Gln Asp35 40 45Phe Arg Ala Tyr Arg Gln Gln Thr Asp
Leu Arg Gln Ile Gly Met Gln50 55 60Lys Asn Leu Gly Ser Gly Arg Val
Gly Ile Leu Phe Ser His Asn Arg65 70 75 80Thr Glu Asn Thr Phe Asp
Asp Gly Ile Gly Asn Ser Ala Arg Leu Ala85 90 95His Gly Ala Val Phe
Gly Gln Tyr Gly Ile Asp Arg Phe Tyr Ile Gly100 105 110Ile Ser Ala
Gly Ala Gly Phe Ser Ser Gly Ser Leu Ser Asp Gly Ile115 120 125Gly
Gly Lys Ile Arg Arg Arg Val Leu His Tyr Gly Ile Gln Ala Arg130 135
140Tyr Arg Ala Gly Phe Gly Gly Phe Gly Ile Glu Pro His Ile Gly
Ala145 150 155 160Thr Arg Tyr Phe Val Gln Lys Ala Asp Tyr Arg Tyr
Glu Asn Val Asn165 170 175Ile Ala Thr Pro Gly Leu Ala Phe Asn Arg
Tyr Arg Ala Gly Ile Lys180 185 190Ala Asp Tyr Ser Phe Lys Pro Ala
Gln His Ile Ser Ile Thr Pro Tyr195 200 205Leu Ser Leu Ser Tyr Thr
Asp Ala Ala Ser Gly Lys Val Arg Thr Arg210 215 220Val Asn Thr Ala
Val Leu Ala Gln Asp Phe Gly Lys Thr Arg Ser Ala225 230 235 240Glu
Trp Gly Val Asn Ala Glu Ile Lys Gly Phe Thr Leu Ser Leu His245 250
255Ala Ala Ala Ala Lys Gly Pro Gln Leu Glu Ala Gln His Ser Ala
Gly260 265 270Ile Lys Leu Gly Tyr Arg Trp27539501PRTNeisseria
speciesMISC_FEATUREApp domain derivative 39Asn Thr Leu Thr Val Asn
Gly Lys Leu Asn Gly Gln Gly Thr Phe Arg1 5 10 15Phe Met Ser Glu Leu
Phe Gly Tyr Arg Ser Asp Lys Leu Lys Leu Ala20 25 30Glu Ser Ser Glu
Gly Thr Tyr Thr Leu Ala Val Asn Asn Thr Gly Asn35 40 45Glu Pro Ala
Ser Leu Glu Gln Leu Thr Val Val Glu Gly Lys Asp Asn50 55 60Lys Pro
Leu Ser Glu Asn Leu Asn Phe Thr Leu Gln Asn Glu His Val65 70 75
80Asp Ala Gly Ala Trp Arg Tyr Gln Leu Ile Arg Lys Asp Gly Glu Phe85
90 95Arg Leu His Asn Pro Val Lys Glu Gln Glu Leu Ser Asp Lys Leu
Gly100 105 110Lys Ala Glu Ala Lys Lys Gln Ala Glu Lys Asp Asn Ala
Gln Ser Leu115 120 125Asp Ala Leu Ile Ala Ala Gly Arg Asp Ala Val
Glu Lys Thr Glu Ser130 135 140Val Ala Glu Pro Ala Arg Gln Ala Gly
Gly Glu Asn Val Gly Ile Met145 150 155 160Gln Ala Glu Glu Glu Lys
Lys Arg Val Gln Ala Asp Lys Asp Thr Ala165 170 175Leu Ala Lys Gln
Arg Glu Ala Glu Thr Arg Pro Ala Thr Thr Ala Phe180 185 190Pro Arg
Ala Arg Arg Ala Arg Arg Asp Leu Pro Gln Leu Gln Pro Gln195 200
205Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Arg Asp Leu Ile Ser Arg Tyr Ala Asn
Ser210 215 220Gly Leu Ser Glu Phe Ser Ala Thr Leu Asn Ser Val Phe
Ala Val Gln225 230 235 240Asp Glu Leu Asp Arg Val Phe Ala Glu Asp
Arg Arg Asn Ala Val Trp245 250 255Thr Ser Gly Ile Arg Asp Thr Lys
His Tyr Arg Ser Gln Asp Phe Arg260 265 270Ala Tyr Arg Gln Gln Thr
Asp Leu Arg Gln Ile Gly Met Gln Lys Asn275 280 285Leu Gly Ser Gly
Arg Val Gly Ile Leu Phe Ser His Asn Arg Thr Glu290 295 300Asn Thr
Phe Asp Asp Gly Ile Gly Asn Ser Ala Arg Leu Ala His Gly305 310 315
320Ala Val Phe Gly Gln Tyr Gly Ile Asp Arg Phe Tyr Ile Gly Ile
Ser325 330 335Ala Gly Ala Gly Phe Ser Ser Gly Ser Leu Ser Asp Gly
Ile Gly Gly340 345 350Lys Ile Arg Arg Arg Val Leu His Tyr Gly Ile
Gln Ala Arg Tyr Arg355 360 365Ala Gly Phe Gly Gly Phe Gly Ile Glu
Pro His Ile Gly Ala Thr Arg370 375 380Tyr Phe Val Gln Lys Ala Asp
Tyr Arg Tyr Glu Asn Val Asn Ile Ala385 390 395 400Thr Pro Gly Leu
Ala Phe Asn Arg Tyr Arg Ala Gly Ile Lys Ala Asp405 410 415Tyr Ser
Phe Lys Pro Ala Gln His Ile Ser Ile Thr Pro Tyr Leu Ser420 425
430Leu Ser Tyr Thr Asp Ala Ala Ser Gly Lys Val Arg Thr Arg Val
Asn435 440 445Thr Ala Val Leu Ala Gln Asp Phe Gly Lys Thr Arg Ser
Ala Glu Trp450 455 460Gly Val Asn Ala Glu Ile Lys Gly Phe Thr Leu
Ser Leu His Ala Ala465 470 475 480Ala Ala Lys Gly Pro Gln Leu Glu
Ala Gln His Ser Ala Gly Ile Lys485 490 495Leu Gly Tyr Arg
Trp5004036PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREResidues of NadA 40Ile
Glu Lys Leu Thr Thr Lys Leu Ala Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu Ala1 5 10
15Asp Thr Asp Ala Ala Leu Asp Glu Thr Thr Asn Ala Leu Asn Lys Leu20
25 30Gly Glu Asn Ile3541270DNANeisseria speciesmisc_featurepartial
coding sequence for NadA 41acccatatcc tgacaaaatt aagacacgac
accggcagaa ttgacatcag cataatatgc 60acatattaac agatattaat gccgaactac
ctaactgcaa gaattaaata aataaataaa 120taaataaata aataaataaa
ttgcgacaat gtattgtata tatgcctcct ttcatatata 180ctttaatatg
taaacaaact tggtggggat aaaatactta caaaagattt ccgccccatt
240ttttatccac tcacaaaggt aatgagcatg 2704216DNANeisseria
speciesmisc_featurePartial sequence of MenA genome 42tttccattcc
aaacgc 164328PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREN. meningitidis 43Arg
Arg Ser Arg Arg Ser Leu Leu Ser Val Thr Pro Pro Ala Ser Ala1 5 10
15Glu Ser His Phe Asn Thr Leu Thr Val Asn Gly Lys20
254433PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREN. meningitidis 44Arg Arg Ala
Arg Arg Asp Leu Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro1 5 10 15Gln Pro
Gln Arg Asp Glu Lys Leu Ile Ser Arg Tyr Ala Asn Ser Gly20 25
30Leu4521PRTHaemophilus speciesMISC_FEATUREH. influenzae 45Arg Arg
Ala Ala Arg Ala Ala Phe Pro Asp Thr Leu Pro Asp Gln Ser1 5 10 15Leu
Leu Asn Ala Leu204626PRTNeisseria speciesMISC_FEATUREN. gonorrhoeae
46Arg Arg Arg Arg Arg Ala Ile Leu Pro Arg Pro Pro Ala Pro Val Phe1
5 10 15Ser Leu Asp Asp Tyr Asp Ala Lys Asp Asn20
254728PRTBordetella speciesMISC_FEATUREB. pertussis 47Arg Arg Ala
Arg Arg Ala Leu Arg Gln Asp Phe Phe Thr Pro Gly Ser1 5 10 15Val Val
Arg Ala Gln Gly Asn Val Thr Val Gly Arg20 25484PRTBordetella
speciesMISC_FEATUREB. bronchiseptica 48Ser Asn Ala
Leu1494PRTSerratia speciesMISC_FEATURES. marcescens 49Leu Asn Ser
Gly1504PRTBordetella speciesMISC_FEATUREB. pertussis 50Val Asn Ala
Ala1514PRTHaemophilus speciesMISC_FEATUREH. influenzae 51Leu Asn
Ala Leu1
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