Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1981 Oct;68(4):881–888. doi: 10.1172/JCI110343

Gonococcal pilus vaccine. Studies of antigenicity and inhibition of attachment.

E C Tramont, J C Sadoff, J W Boslego, J Ciak, D McChesney, C C Brinton, S Wood, E Takafuji
PMCID: PMC370875  PMID: 6116723

Abstract

A gonococcal pilus vaccine or placebo was injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly into 71 human volunteers. The vaccine was found to be safe. The principal adverse reaction was a complaint of a sore arm, which was caused, at least in part, to the volume of material injected. 6 of 64 (9%) volunteers receiving the larger doses also complained of malaise. The vaccine was found to be antigenic. All of the volunteers developed an immunoglobulin class-specific antibody response as measured by a solid phase radioimmunoassay. The antibody was capable of blocking the attachment of gonococci to epithelial cells. A slight antibody response was also demonstrated to gonococcal lipopolysaccharide but the antibody responsible for blocking attachment of gonococci was directed entirely at the pilus protein. The stimulated antibodies were shown to crossreact with isolated pili of heterologous gonococcal strains and to block the attachment of heterologous gonococci. Absorption of immune sera by a heterologous pilus reduced the inhibition of attachment antibodies to pre-immune level, suggesting that the immune response was directed at a common pilus determinant.

Full text

PDF
881

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brooks G. F., Israel K. S., Petersen B. H. Bactericidal and opsonic activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae in sera from patients with disseminated gonococcal infection. J Infect Dis. 1976 Nov;134(5):450–462. doi: 10.1093/infdis/134.5.450. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dilworth J. A., Hendley J. O., Mandell G. L. Attachment and ingestion of gonococci human neutrophils. Infect Immun. 1975 Mar;11(3):512–516. doi: 10.1128/iai.11.3.512-516.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gibbs D. L., Roberts R. B. The interaction in vitro between human polymorphonuclear leukocytes and Neisseria gonorrhoeae cultivated in the chick embryo. J Exp Med. 1975 Jan 1;141(1):155–171. doi: 10.1084/jem.141.1.155. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. KELLOGG D. S., Jr, PEACOCK W. L., Jr, DEACON W. E., BROWN L., PIRKLE D. I. NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE. I. VIRULENCE GENETICALLY LINKED TO CLONAL VARIATION. J Bacteriol. 1963 Jun;85:1274–1279. doi: 10.1128/jb.85.6.1274-1279.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. McCormack W. M., Nowroozi K., Alpert S., Sackel S. G., Lee Y. H., Lowe E. W., Rankin J. S. Acute pelvic inflammatory disease: characteristics of patients with gonococcal and nongonococcal infection and evaluation of their response to treatment with aqueous procaine penicillin G and spectinomycin hydrochloride. Sex Transm Dis. 1977 Oct-Dec;4(4):125–131. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Morgan R. L., Isaacson R. E., Moon H. W., Brinton C. C., To C. C. Immunization of suckling pigs against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-induced diarrheal disease by vaccinating dams with purified 987 or K99 pili: protection correlates with pilus homology of vaccine and challenge. Infect Immun. 1978 Dec;22(3):771–777. doi: 10.1128/iai.22.3.771-777.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nagy B., Moon H. W., Isaacson R. E., To C. C., Brinton C. C. Immunization of suckling pigs against enteric enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection by vaccinating dams with purified pili. Infect Immun. 1978 Jul;21(1):269–274. doi: 10.1128/iai.21.1.269-274.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. OSBORN M. J. STUDIES ON THE GRAM-NEGATIVE CELL WALL. I. EVIDENCE FOR THE ROLE OF 2-KETO- 3-DEOXYOCTONATE IN THE LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1963 Sep;50:499–506. doi: 10.1073/pnas.50.3.499. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Oates S. A., Falkler W. A., Jr, Joseph J. M., Warfel L. E. Asymptomatic females: detection of antibody activity to gonococcal pili antigen by radioimmunoassay. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Jan;5(1):26–30. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.1.26-30.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ofek I., Beachey E. H., Bisno A. L. Resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to phagocytosis: relationship to colonial morphology and surface pili. J Infect Dis. 1974 Mar;129(3):310–316. doi: 10.1093/infdis/129.3.310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Pearce W. A., Buchanan T. M. Attachment role of gonococcal pili. Optimum conditions and quantitation of adherence of isolated pili to human cells in vitro. J Clin Invest. 1978 Apr;61(4):931–943. doi: 10.1172/JCI109018. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Swanson J., Kraus S. J., Gotschlich E. C. Studies on gonococcus infection. I. Pili and zones of adhesion: their relation to gonococcal growth patterns. J Exp Med. 1971 Oct 1;134(4):886–906. doi: 10.1084/jem.134.4.886. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Swanson J. Studies on gonococcus infection. IV. Pili: their role in attachment of gonococci to tissue culture cells. J Exp Med. 1973 Mar 1;137(3):571–589. doi: 10.1084/jem.137.3.571. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Thomas D. W., Hill J. C., Tyeryar F. J., Jr Interaction of gonococci with phagocytic leukocytes from men and mice. Infect Immun. 1973 Jul;8(1):98–104. doi: 10.1128/iai.8.1.98-104.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Thongthai C., Sawyer W. D. Studies on the virulence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. I. Relation of colonial morphology and resistance to phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Infect Immun. 1973 Mar;7(3):373–379. doi: 10.1128/iai.7.3.373-379.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tramont E. C., Ciak J., Boslego J., McChesney D. G., Brinton C. C., Zollinger W. Antigenic specificity of antibodies in vaginal secretions during infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. J Infect Dis. 1980 Jul;142(1):23–31. doi: 10.1093/infdis/142.1.23. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tramont E. C. Inhibition of adherence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae by human genital secretions. J Clin Invest. 1977 Jan;59(1):117–124. doi: 10.1172/JCI108608. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Tramont E. C. Specificity of inhibition of epithelial cell adhesion of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Infect Immun. 1976 Aug;14(2):593–595. doi: 10.1128/iai.14.2.593-595.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Weström L. Incidence, prevalence, and trends of acute pelvic inflammatory disease and its consequences in industrialized countries. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1980 Dec 1;138(7 Pt 2):880–892. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(80)91077-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Witt K., Veale D. R., Finch H., Penn C. W., Sen D., Smith H. Resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae grown in vivo to ingestion and digestion by phagocytes of human blood. J Gen Microbiol. 1976 Oct;96(2):341–350. doi: 10.1099/00221287-96-2-341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Zollinger W. D., Dalrymple J. M., Artenstein M. S. Analysis of parameters affecting the solid phase radioimmunoassay quantitation of antibody to meningococcal antigens. J Immunol. 1976 Nov;117(5 PT2):1788–1798. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Investigation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Clinical Investigation

RESOURCES