CD46 in Meningococcal Disease

The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningoco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2003-07, Vol.301 (5631), p.373-375
Main Authors: Johansson, Linda, Rytkönen, Anne, Bergman, Peter, Albiger, Barbara, Källström, Helena, Hökfelt, Tomas, Agerberth, Birgitta, Cattaneo, Roberto, Jonsson, Ann-Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antigens, CD - physiology
Attrition (Research Studies)
Bacteremia
Bacteria
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the nervous system. Bacterial myositis
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Blood brain barrier
Brain
Cells
Cerebrospinal Fluid - microbiology
Colony Count, Microbial
Disease models
Disease Models, Animal
Diseases
Drug therapy
Epithelial cells
Fimbriae, Bacterial - physiology
House mouse
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Membrane Cofactor Protein
Membrane Glycoproteins - physiology
Meningitis
Meningitis, Meningococcal - microbiology
Meningococcal infections
Meningococcal Infections - microbiology
Mice
Mice as laboratory animals
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Transgenic
Mortality
Nasopharynx - microbiology
Neisseria meningitidis - pathogenicity
Neisseria meningitidis - ultrastructure
Pathogens
Proteins
Rodents
Transgenic animals
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Description
Summary:The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningococcal disease, because bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier in these mice. Development of disease was more efficient with piliated bacteria after intranasal, but not intraperitoneal, challenge of CD46 transgenic mice, suggesting that human CD46 facilitates pilus-dependent interactions at the epithelial mucosa. Hence, the human CD46 transgenic mice model is a potentially useful tool for studying pathogenesis and for vaccine development against meningococcal disease.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1086476