Hollingshead Sarah, Tang Christoph M
Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Methods Mol Biol. 2019;1969:1-16. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9202-7_1.
Neisseria meningitidis (the meningococcus) is a member of the normal nasopharyngeal microbiome in healthy individuals, but can cause septicemia and meningitis in susceptible individuals. In this chapter we provide an overview of the disease caused by N. meningitidis and the schemes used to type the meningococcus. We also review the adhesions, virulence factors, and phase variable genes that enable it to successfully colonize the human host. Finally, we outline the history and current status of meningococcal vaccines and highlight the importance of continued molecular investigation of the epidemiology and the structural analysis of the antigens of this pathogen to aid future vaccine development.
脑膜炎奈瑟菌（脑膜炎球菌）是健康个体正常鼻咽微生物群的成员，但可在易感个体中引起败血症和脑膜炎。在本章中，我们概述了由脑膜炎奈瑟菌引起的疾病以及用于对脑膜炎球菌进行分型的方案。我们还回顾了使其能够成功定殖于人类宿主的黏附素、毒力因子和相变基因。最后，我们概述了脑膜炎球菌疫苗的历史和现状，并强调了对该病原体的流行病学进行持续分子研究以及对抗原进行结构分析以辅助未来疫苗开发的重要性。
