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Infection and Immunity, March 2002, p. 1301-1309, Vol. 70, No. 3
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.3.1301-1309.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses Elicited by Meningococcal Carriage

K. Robinson,1 K. R. Neal,2 C. Howard,1 J. Stockton,1 K. Atkinson,1 E. Scarth,1 J. Moran,1 A. Robins,3 I. Todd,3 E. Kaczmarski,4 S. Gray,4 I. Muscat,5 R. Slack,1 and D. A. A. Ala'Aldeen1*

Divisions of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases,1 Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology,2 Immunology,3 Molecular Bacteriology and Immunology Group, University Hospital, Nottingham, Meningococcal Reference Unit, Public Health Laboratory Service, Withington Hospital, Manchester,4 Department of Pathology, The General Hospital, Jersey, United Kingdom5

Received 9 July 2001/ Returned for modification 11 October 2001/ Accepted 4 December 2001

In order to study the immune response elicited by asymptomatic carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, samples of serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and saliva were collected from a cohort of more than 200 undergraduate students in Nottingham, United Kingdom, who were subject to high rates of acquisition and carriage of meningococci. Serum immunoglobulin G levels were elevated following increases in the rate of carriage, and these responses were specific for the colonizing strains. In order to investigate T-cell responses, PBMCs from 15 individuals were stimulated with a whole-cell lysate of the H44/76 meningococcal strain (B:15:P1.7,16), stained to detect cell surface markers and intracellular cytokines, and examined by flow cytometry. The cells were analyzed for expression of CD69 (to indicate activation), gamma interferon (IFN-{gamma}) (a representative T-helper 1 subset [Th1]-associated cytokine), and interleukin-5 (IL-5) (a Th2-associated cytokine). Following a brief meningococcal stimulation, the numbers of CD69+ IFN-{gamma}+ CD56/16+ NK cells were much higher than cytokine-positive CD4+ events. Both IFN-{gamma}+ and IL-5+ events were detected among the CD69+ CD4+ population, leading to the conclusion that an unbiased T-helper subset response was elicited by meningococcal carriage.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, A Floor West Block, University Hospital, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0)115-849-3321. Fax: 44 (0)115-970-9233. E-mail: daa{at}nottingham.ac.uk.

Infection and Immunity, March 2002, p. 1301-1309, Vol. 70, No. 3
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.3.1301-1309.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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