Why carry out this study?

The 4CMenB vaccine (Bexsero, GSK) was developed to protect against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis. As 4CMenB antigens are also commonly found in other meningococcal serogroups, 4CMenB may offer protection against non-B serogroups causing IMD.

We investigated if 4CMenB vaccination can raise a functional immune response against non-B serogroup strains in adolescents, one of the populations most susceptible to meningococcal disease.

What was learned from the study?

We showed that the antibodies induced by vaccination of adolescents with 4CMenB induce bactericidal killing against N. meningitidis C, W, and Y, by using a large panel of 147 non-B isolates representative of current IMD epidemiology.

While 4CMenB was developed to protect against N. meningitidis serogroup B, the immune responses observed in sera from adolescents vaccinated with 4CMenB suggest protection against non-B serogroups as well.

These results expand earlier findings and support previous evidence that 4CMenB vaccination may have the added value of cross-protection against prevalent IMD-causing N. meningitidis serogroup C, W, and Y strains.