This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Peng, D.
Right arrow Articles by Gu, X.-X.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Peng, D.
Right arrow Articles by Gu, X.-X.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, November 2005, p. 7569-7577, Vol. 73, No. 11
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.11.7569-7577.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Moraxella catarrhalis Bacterium without Endotoxin, a Potential Vaccine Candidate

Daxin Peng,1 Wenzhou Hong,1 Biswa P. Choudhury,2 Russell W. Carlson,2 and Xin-Xing Gu1*

Vaccine Research Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Rockville, Maryland 20850,1 Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 306022

Received 2 August 2005/ Returned for modification 10 August 2005/ Accepted 16 August 2005

Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is a major surface component of Moraxella catarrhalis and a possible virulence factor in the pathogenesis of human infections caused by this organism. The presence of LOS on the bacterium is an obstacle to the development of vaccines derived from whole cells or outer membrane components of the bacterium. An lpxA gene encoding UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase responsible for the first step of lipid A biosynthesis was identified by the construction and characterization of an isogenic M. catarrhalis lpxA mutant in strain O35E. The resulting mutant was viable despite the complete loss of LOS. The mutant strain showed significantly decreased toxicity by the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay, reduced resistance to normal human serum, reduced adherence to human epithelial cells, and enhanced clearance in lungs and nasopharynx in a mouse aerosol challenge model. Importantly, the mutant elicited high levels of antibodies with bactericidal activity and provided protection against a challenge with the wild-type strain. These data suggest that the null LOS mutant is attenuated and may be a potential vaccine candidate against M. catarrhalis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 5 Research Court, Room 2A31, Rockville, MD 20850. Phone: (301) 402-2456. Fax: (301) 402-5354. E-mail: guxx{at}nidcd.nih.gov.

Editor: J. T. Barbieri

Infection and Immunity, November 2005, p. 7569-7577, Vol. 73, No. 11
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.11.7569-7577.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • de Vries, S. P. W., Bootsma, H. J., Hays, J. P., Hermans, P. W. M. (2009). Molecular Aspects of Moraxella catarrhalis Pathogenesis. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 73: 389-406 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»