Rouphael Nadine G, Stephens David S
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012;799:1-20. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-346-2_1.
Neisseria meningitidis (the meningococcus) causes significant morbidity and mortality in children and young adults worldwide through epidemic or sporadic meningitis and/or septicemia. In this review, we describe the biology, microbiology, and epidemiology of this exclusive human pathogen. N.meningitidis is a fastidious, encapsulated, aerobic gram-negative diplococcus. Colonies are positive by the oxidase test and most strains utilize maltose. The phenotypic classification of meningococci, based on structural differences in capsular polysaccharide, lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and outer membrane proteins, is now complemented by genome sequence typing (ST). The epidemiological profile of N. meningitidis is variable in different populations and over time and virulence of the meningococcus is based on a transformable/plastic genome and expression of certain capsular polysaccharides (serogroups A, B, C, W-135, Y and X) and non-capsular antigens. N. meningitidis colonizes mucosal surfaces using a multifactorial process involving pili, twitching motility, LOS, opacity associated, and other surface proteins. Certain clonal groups have an increased capacity to gain access to the blood, evade innate immune responses, multiply, and cause systemic disease. Although new vaccines hold great promise, meningococcal infection continues to be reported in both developed and developing countries, where universal vaccine coverage is absent and antibiotic resistance increasingly more common.
脑膜炎奈瑟菌（脑膜炎球菌）在全球范围内导致儿童和年轻人出现严重的发病和死亡情况，可引发流行性或散发性脑膜炎和/或败血症。在本综述中，我们描述了这种专性人类病原体的生物学、微生物学和流行病学特征。脑膜炎奈瑟菌是一种苛求、有荚膜、需氧的革兰氏阴性双球菌。菌落氧化酶试验呈阳性，大多数菌株利用麦芽糖。基于荚膜多糖、脂寡糖（LOS）和外膜蛋白结构差异的脑膜炎球菌表型分类，现在已通过基因组序列分型（ST）得到补充。脑膜炎奈瑟菌的流行病学特征在不同人群中以及随时间变化而有所不同，脑膜炎球菌的毒力基于可转化/可塑性基因组以及某些荚膜多糖（血清群A、B、C、W - 135、Y和X）和非荚膜抗原的表达。脑膜炎奈瑟菌通过涉及菌毛、颤动运动、LOS、不透明相关蛋白和其他表面蛋白的多因素过程定殖于粘膜表面。某些克隆群进入血液、逃避先天免疫反应、繁殖并引发全身性疾病的能力增强。尽管新疫苗前景广阔，但在发达国家和发展中国家仍不断有脑膜炎球菌感染的报告，这些国家缺乏普遍的疫苗接种覆盖，且抗生素耐药性日益普遍。
