Verheul A F, Snippe H, Poolman J T
Eijkman-Winkler Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Academic Hospital, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Microbiol Rev. 1993 Mar;57(1):34-49. doi: 10.1128/mr.57.1.34-49.1993.
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are surface components of the outer membrane of Neisseria meningitidis. Today, 12 different types of meningococcal LPS (immunotypes) are known, of which 3 are prevalent in the western world. The differences between these immunotypes are in the oligosaccharide part of the LPS molecule and consist of small differences in the oligosaccharide structure, the amount and location of phosphoethanolamine groups, and the degree of O acetylation of individual monosaccharides. Although the differences between the various immunotypes are small, they have a profound influence on the immunochemical and immunological properties of these molecules. Furthermore, each individual strain synthesizes a number of different LPS molecules. The expression of the various components (protective epitopes) is influenced by growth conditions and growth phase. Meningococci can endogenously sialyate their LPS, which constitutes one of the mechanisms by which N. meningitidis can evade the response of the human host. Meningococcal LPS play a key role in the induction of septic shock and can probably enhance the invasiveness of meningococcal strains and shield protective epitopes. Therefore, incorporation of (detoxified) LPS or oligosaccharide components derived therefrom might be very beneficial for the efficacy of a vaccine against group B meningococci. An overview of the development of vaccines against group B meningococci is given, and the status and potential of meningococcal LPS-derived (synthetic) oligosaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines are discussed.
脂多糖（LPS）是脑膜炎奈瑟菌外膜的表面成分。如今，已知有12种不同类型的脑膜炎球菌LPS（免疫型），其中3种在西方世界较为普遍。这些免疫型之间的差异在于LPS分子的寡糖部分，包括寡糖结构的微小差异、磷酸乙醇胺基团的数量和位置，以及单个单糖的O-乙酰化程度。尽管各种免疫型之间的差异很小，但它们对这些分子的免疫化学和免疫学特性有深远影响。此外，每个菌株都会合成多种不同的LPS分子。各种成分（保护性表位）的表达受生长条件和生长阶段的影响。脑膜炎球菌可内源性地使它们的LPS唾液酸化，这是脑膜炎奈瑟菌逃避人类宿主反应的机制之一。脑膜炎球菌LPS在感染性休克的诱导中起关键作用，并且可能增强脑膜炎球菌菌株的侵袭性并屏蔽保护性表位。因此，掺入（解毒的）LPS或由此衍生的寡糖成分可能对B群脑膜炎球菌疫苗的效力非常有益。本文概述了B群脑膜炎球菌疫苗的发展情况，并讨论了脑膜炎球菌LPS衍生的（合成）寡糖-蛋白质结合疫苗的现状和潜力。
