Rolando Pajon

• PhD
• Managing Director at Moderna

The effect of protein-based meningococcal vaccines on prevention of nasopharyngeal colonization has been difficult to investigate experimentally because a reliable animal colonization model did not exist. Human CEACAM1 transgenic mice, which can be colonized by meningococci, were immunized IP with one of two meningococcal native outer membrane vesi...

Among 25 serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis clinical isolates, we identified four (16%) with high FHbp expression that were resistant to complement-mediated bactericidal activity of sera from mice immunized with recombinant Factor H binding protein (FHbp) vaccines. Two of the four isolates had evidence of human FH-dependent complement down-regulati...

Unlabelled: The meningococcal 4CMenB vaccine (Bexsero; Novartis) contains four antigens that can elicit serum bactericidal activity, one of which is factor H (FH)-binding protein (FHbp). FHbp specifically binds human complement FH. When humans are immunized, FHbp is expected to form a complex with FH, which could affect immunogenicity and safety....

Background: The meningococcal serogroup A (MenA) polysaccharide conjugate vaccine used in Sub-Saharan Africa does not prevent disease caused by MenW or MenX strains, which also cause epidemics in the region. We investigated the vaccine-potential of native outer membrane vesicles with over-expressed factor H-binding protein (NOMV-fHbp), which targe...

Meningococcal factor H binding protein (fHbp) is a human species-specific ligand for the complement regulator, factor H (fH). In recent studies, fHbp vaccines in which arginine at position 41 was replaced by serine (R41S) had impaired fH binding. The mutant vaccines elicited bactericidal responses in human fH transgenic mice superior to those elici...

Background Characterizing the antibody epitope profiles of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 can aid in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the antibody-mediated immune responses elicited by these vaccines. Methods This study investigated the distinct antibody epitopes toward the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein targeted after a...

During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, multiple variants escaping preexisting immunity emerged, causing reinfections of previously exposed individuals. Here, we used antigenic cartography to analyze patterns of cross-reactivity among 21 variants and 15 groups of human sera obtained after primary infection...

The COVE trial randomized participants to receive two doses of mRNA-1273 vaccine or placebo on Days 1 and 29 (D1, D29). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike IgG binding antibodies (bAbs), anti-receptor binding domain IgG bAbs, 50% inhibitory dilution neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers, and 80% inhibitory dilution nAb titers were measured at D29 and D57. We assess...

What is this summary about? The PLSP summarizes results from the phase 2/3 KidCOVE trial examining mRNA-1273 (Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine) in children 6 through 11 years of age. What were the results? This study reviewed results from two parts of the KidCOVE clinical trial: Part 1 of the study was performed to select a dose of mRNA-1273 (50 μg or 1...

Characterizing the antibody epitope profiles of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 can aid in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the antibody-mediated immune responses elicited by these vaccines. This study investigated the distinct antibody epitopes toward the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein targeted after a 2-dose primary seri...

The best assay or marker to define mRNA-1273 vaccine-induced antibodies as a correlate of protection (CoP) is unclear. In the COVE trial, participants received two doses of the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine or placebo. We previously assessed IgG binding antibodies to the spike protein (spike IgG) or receptor binding domain (RBD IgG) and pseudovirus ne...

Background Hybrid immunity is associated with more durable protection against COVID-19. We describe the antibody responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Methods The 55 vaccine-arm COVID-19 cases diagnosed during the blinded phase of the Coronavirus Efficacy trial were matched with 55 placebo-arm COVID-1...

Background: Developing a safe and immunogenic vaccine against Zika virus remains an unmet medical need. We did two phase 1 studies that evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of two mRNA-based Zika virus vaccines (mRNA-1325 and mRNA-1893) in adults. Methods: Two randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, multicentre, phase 1 trials, one of m...

IntroductionThere is a need for automated, high-throughput assays to quantify immune response after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. This study assessed the combined utility of the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (ACOV2S) and the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (ACOV2N) assays using samples from the mRNA-1273 (Spikevax™) phase 2 trial (NCT04405076).Methods Samples from...

Background: The safety, reactogenicity, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the mRNA-1273 coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine in young children are unknown. Methods: Part 1 of this ongoing phase 2-3 trial was open label for dose selection; part 2 was an observer-blinded, placebo-controlled evaluation of the selected dose. In part 2, we rando...

Updated immunization strategies are needed to address multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. Here we report interim results from an ongoing, open-label phase 2/3 trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the bivalent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate mRNA-1273.211, which contains...

Background The reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines is well-studied. Little is known regarding the relationship between immunogenicity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods This study assessed the association between immunogenicity and reactogenicity after two mRNA-1273 (100 µg) injections in 1671 to...

Background: Vaccination of children to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is an urgent public health need. The safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the mRNA-1273 vaccine in children 6 to 11 years of age are unknown. Methods: Part 1 of this ongoing phase 2-3 trial was open label for dose selection; part 2 was an observer-blinded, plac...

Background mRNA-1273 vaccine demonstrated 93.2% efficacy against Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Coronavirus efficacy (COVE) trial. The humoral immunogenicity results are now reported. Methods Participants received two mRNA-1273 (100 µg) or placebo injections, 28 days apart. Immune responses were evaluated in a pre-specified, randomly-s...

Waning immunity after two SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations and the emergence of variants precipitated the need for a third dose of vaccine. We evaluated early safety and immunogenicity after a third mRNA vaccination in adults who received the mRNA-1273 primary series in the Phase 1 trial approximately 9 to 10 months earlier. The booster vaccine formula...

Rising breakthrough infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in previously immunized individuals have raised concerns for the need for a booster vaccine dose to combat waning antibody levels and new variants. Here we report the results of the open-label, non-randomized part B of a phase 2 trial in which we evaluate...

Waning immunity after two SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations and the emergence of variants precipitated the need for booster doses. We evaluated safety and serological and cellular immunogenicity through 6 months after a third mRNA vaccination in adults who received the mRNA-1273 primary series in the Phase 1 trial approximately 9 to 10 months earlier. T...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have caused multiple waves of infection globally. This phase 2/3 study evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of the bivalent vaccine candidate mRNA-1273.211 (equal mRNA amounts of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Beta variant spike proteins) as 50-µg (n=300) and 100-µg (n=595) first bo...

The mRNA-1273 vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) demonstrated 93.2% efficacy in reduction of symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the blinded portion of the Phase 3 Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) trial. While mRNA-1273 demonstrated high efficacy in prevention of COVID-19, including severe...

Background There is a need for automated, high throughput assays to quantify immune response after vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study assessed the combined utility of the Roche assays, Elecsys ® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (ACOV2S) and Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (ACOV2N) using samples from the 2019-nCoV...

Importance Due to the emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants, evaluation of boosters is needed. Objectives Evaluate safety and immunogenicity of 100-µg of mRNA-1273 booster dose in adults. Design Open-label, Phase 2/3 study. Setting Multicenter study at 8 sites in the U.S. Participants The mRNA-1273 100-µg booster was administere...

The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant has led to growing concerns of increased transmissibility and escape of both natural and vaccine-induced immunity. In this analysis, sera from adult participants in a phase 2 clinical study ( NCT04405076 ) were tested for neutralizing activ...

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, multiple variants with differing amounts of escape from pre-existing immunity have emerged, causing concerns about continued protection. Here, we use antigenic cartography to quantify and visualize the antigenic relationships among 16 SARS-CoV-2 variants titrated against serum samples taken post-vaccination and post-...

Background The highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant is a global concern. This study assessed the neutralization activity of two-dose regimens of mRNA-1273 vaccination against Omicron in adults, adolescents and children. Methods Neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was evalua...

Background The ability to quantify an immune response after vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential. This study assessed the clinical utility of the quantitative Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay (ACOV2S) using samples from the 2019-nCoV vaccine (mRNA-1273) phase 1 trial (NCT04283461). Met...

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is raising concerns because of its increased transmissibility and potential for reduced susceptibility to antibody neutralization. To assess the potential risk of this variant to existing vaccines, serum samples from mRNA-1273 vaccine recipients were tested for neutralizing activity against Omicron and compared to...

Vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are key biomarkers considered to be associated with vaccine efficacy. In United States government-sponsored phase 3 efficacy trials of COVID-19 vaccines, nAbs are measured by two different validated pseudovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assays, with each trial using one of the two assays. Here we...

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection causes acute disease characterized by fever, rash and arthralgia, which progresses to severe and chronic arthritis in up to 50% of patients. Moreover, CHIKV infection can be fatal in infants or immunocompromised individuals and has no approved therapy or prevention. This phase 1, first-in-human, randomized, place...

Antibody levels predict vaccine efficacy Symptomatic COVID-19 infection can be prevented by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines. A “correlate of protection” is a molecular biomarker to measure how much immunity is needed to fight infection and is key for successful global immunization programs. Gilbert et al . dete...

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants has led to growing concerns over increased transmissibility and the ability of some variants to partially escape immunity. Sera from participants immunized on a prime-boost schedule with the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine were tested for neutralizing activity against...

BACKGROUND At interim analysis in a phase 3, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the mRNA-1273 vaccine showed 94.1% efficacy in preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). After emergency use of the vaccine was authorized, the protocol was amended to include an open-label phase. Final analyses of efficacy and safety data from t...

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs) with decreased susceptibility to neutralization has generated interest in assessments of booster doses and variant-specific vaccines. Clinical trial participants who received a two-dose primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 approximately 6 months earli...

Background The ability to quantify an immune response after vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential. This study assessed the clinical utility of the quantitative Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay (ACOV2S) using samples from the 2019-nCoV vaccine (mRNA-1273) phase 1 trial (NCT04283461). Meth...

Rising breakthrough infections of coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in previously immunized individuals has raised concerns for a potential booster to combat suspected waning immunity and new variants. In this study, participants immunized 6-8 months earlier with a primary series of two doses of 50 or 100 μg of mRNA-1273 were administered a booster inject...

This analysis assessed the impact of mRNA-1273 vaccination on the viral dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the ongoing Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) trial. mRNA-1273 vaccination significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral copy number (95% confidence interval [CI]) by 100-fold on the day of diagnosis (4.1...

Background At interim analysis in a phase 3, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the mRNA-1273 vaccine showed 94.1% efficacy in preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). After emergency use of the vaccine was authorized, the protocol was amended to include an open-label phase. Final analyses of efficacy and safety data from t...

Background Following emergency use authorization in December 2020, the Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) trial was amended to an open-label phase, where participants were unblinded and those randomized to placebo were offered vaccination. Emergence of the delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been associated wi...

Vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are key biomarkers considered to be associated with vaccine efficacy. In United States Government-sponsored phase 3 efficacy trials of COVID-19 vaccines, nAbs are measured by two different validated pseudovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assays, with each trial using one of the two assays. Here we...

Vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are key biomarkers considered to be associated with vaccine efficacy. In United States Government-sponsored phase 3 efficacy trials of COVID-19 vaccines, nAbs are measured by two different validated pseudovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assays, with each trial using one of the two assays. Here we...

Background The incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) among adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age was approximately 900 per 100,000 population from April 1 through June 11, 2021. The safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the mRNA-1273 vaccine in adolescents are unknown. Methods In this ongoing phase 2–3, placebo-controlled trial,...

Background: In the Coronavirus Efficacy (COVE) trial, estimated mRNA-1273 vaccine efficacy against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) was 94%. SARS-CoV-2 antibody measurements were assessed as correlates of COVID-19 risk and as correlates of protection. Methods: Through case-cohort sampling, participants were selected for measurement of four serum a...

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants has led to growing concerns over increased transmissibility and the ability of some variants to partially escape immunity. Sera from participants immunized on a prime-boost schedule with the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine were tested for neutralizing activity against...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has led to more than 3 million deaths worldwide. Safe and effective vaccines are now available, including the mRNA-1273 prototype vaccine, which encodes for the Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein stabi...

All current vaccines for COVID-19 utilize ancestral SARS-CoV-2 Spike with the goal of generating protective neutralizing antibodies. The recent emergence and rapid spread of several SARS-CoV-2 variants carrying multiple Spike mutations raise concerns about possible immune escape. One variant, first identified in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7, also ca...

Background Vaccines are urgently needed to prevent the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of vaccine candidate mRNA-1273, encoding the prefusion-stabilized spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Methods This phase 2, randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled trial was...

The SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein mediates virus entry and is a major target for neutralizing antibodies. All current vaccines are based on the ancestral Spike with the goal of generating protective neutralizing antibodies. Several novel SARS-CoV-2 variants with multiple Spike mutations have emerged, and their rapid spread and potential for immune...

Background Vaccines are needed to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and to protect persons who are at high risk for complications. The mRNA-1273 vaccine is a lipid nanoparticle–encapsulated mRNA-based vaccine that encodes the prefusion stabilized full-length spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)...

Issued on February 16, 2016

Neisserial Surface Protein A (NspA) is a highly conserved outer membrane protein previously investigated as a meningococcal vaccine candidate. Despite eliciting serum bactericidal activity in mice, a recombinant NspA vaccine failed to elicit serum bactericidal antibodies in a phase 1 clinical trial in humans. The discordant results may be explained...

Background: Meningococcal epidemics in Sub-Sahara caused by serogroup A strains are controlled by a group A polysaccharide conjugate vaccine. Strains with serogroups C, W and X continue to cause epidemics. Protein antigens in licensed serogroup B vaccines are shared among serogroup B and non-B strains. Purpose: Compare serum bactericidal antibod...

Significance Factor H binding protein (FHbp) is a component of two vaccines recently licensed for prevention of sepsis and meningitis caused by meningococci. FHbp is antigenically variable, and certain sequence variants have low thermal stability. Two amino acid substitutions stabilized a less stable FHbp variant by 21 °C, and the high-resolution c...

Factor H binding protein (FHbp) is a virulence factor used by meningococci to evade the host complement system. FHbp elicits bactericidal antibodies in humans and is part of two recently licensed vaccines. Using human complement Factor H (FH) transgenic mice, we previously showed that binding of FH decreased the protective antibody responses to FHb...

Comparison of serum bactericidal antibody responses of mice immunized with NOMV-fHbp or NOMV-fHbp KO vaccines. Serum bactericidal antibody responses were measured against seven serogroup W isolates with porA VR types related to the PorA contained in both NOMV vaccines. The antibody responses elicited by the NOMV-fHbp KO vaccine are mostly directed...

Binding of anti-fHbp mAb and human fH to live bacteria of N. meningitidis strains as measured by flow cytometry. Panel A. Binding of anti-fHbp mAbs (JAR 4 and JAR 5; 2 µg/ml of each). Panel B, Binding of human fH (2 µg/ml). Symbols for H44/76 strains: Wild-type strain (solid red line), which naturally expresses high amounts of fHbp; LpxL1 knockout...

The binding of human complement inhibitors to vaccine antigens in vivo could diminish their immunogenicity. A meningococcal ligand for the complement down-regulator, factor H (fH), is fH-binding protein (fHbp), which is specific for human fH. Vaccines containing recombinant fHbp or native outer membrane vesicles (NOMV) from mutant strains with over...

Numerous aspects of the relationship between bacteria and human have been investigated. One aspect that has recently received attention is sequence overlap at the proteomic level. However, there has not yet been a study that comprehensively characterizes the level of sequence overlap between bacteria and human, especially as it relates to bacterial...

Complete cellular localization results. Each scatterplot compares the similarity to the human proteome of proteins from pathogens and nonpathogens with a given subcellular localization. Bacterial 5-mers that were found more than ten times in the human proteome are not represented. The length in one direction of the error bar associated with each po...

Similarity of aggregated sets of outer membrane-localized proteins in pathogens and nonpathogens. Outer membrane-localized proteins from Gram-negative pathogens were aggregated into a single “pan-proteome”, and likewise for nonpathogens. The similarity to the human proteome of these two pan-proteomes is indicated. Bacterial 5-mers that were found m...

Similarity of shuffled bacterial proteomes. The relative similarity to the human proteome is shown for the bacteria in set 2 a, set 2 b, set 5a, and set 5b. Bacterial 5-mers that were found more than ten times in the human proteome are not represented. The length in one direction of the error bar associated with each point represents the standard d...

Complete list of bacteria used in this study. This list corresponds to set 1 as described in the Methods section. (XLS)

Meningococcal factor H binding protein (fHbp) is an important vaccine antigen for prevention of disease caused by capsular group B strains. The protein has been sub-classified into three variant groups. Most anti-fHbp antibodies are variant group-specific and recognize epitopes on the C-terminal domain. We report a murine IgG1 mAb, JAR 41, which br...

Supplementary Figures S1 to S4

Lactoferrin binding proteins A and B (LbpA and LbpB) compose the lactoferrin receptor of the obligate human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis. This receptor is thought to be important for colonization and initiation of invasive disease because of its role in acquiring host iron and providing protection from the cationic peptide, lactoferricin. By vir...

RESUMEN Proteínas predichas de Neisseria meningitidis como posibles candidatos vacunales: de los análisis in silico a la corroboración experimental. Las infecciones producidas por el serogrupo B de Neisseria meningitidis constituyen un serio problema de salud mundial que no puede ser prevenido mediante la vacunación. En este artículo reportamos un...

Serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) disease remains a serious public health problem for which a cross-protective vaccine effective against a wide range of MenB isolates has not been available. Novartis Vaccines has developed a vaccine for the prevention of MenB disease that contains four antigenic components: factor H binding protein (fHbp), neisseria...

Serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) disease remains a serious public health problem for which a cross-protective vaccine effective against a wide range of MenB isolates has not been available. Novartis Vaccines has developed a vaccine for the prevention of MenB disease that contains four antigenic components: factor H binding protein (fHbp), neisseria...

Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B infections are a serious health threat to the world that cannot be prevented by vaccination. Here, we report an analysis of the MC58 Neisseria meningitidis genome aimed at the identification of new potential vaccine candidates. ‘Hypothetical’ and ‘conserved hypothetical’ annotated genes, together with those with p...

Distribution of PorA variable region (VR) types among African isolates. PorA VR type designations were made as described at http://pubmlst.org/neisseria/. Among the serogroup A isolates, P1.20,9 was present overall in 55%, and in 89% of 18 serogroup A isolates obtained since 1990. Among the serogroup W- 135 isolates, P1.5,2 and related types such a...

Characteristic of meningococcal strain panel. *Designation used in labels of figures, table and text of paper. †UA, undesignated. Note ST 3687 and ST 5403 differed by only a single nucleotide change in one of the seven loci (fumC) and, thus, may represent a new CC. Novartis variant groups as described by Masignani et al [27]; Pfizer subfamilies as...

Characterization of NOMV vaccines. Panel A. Expression of fHbp as measured by Western-blot with anti-fHbp mAb JAR 3. Lane 1, rfHbp ID 1, purified His-tagged protein expressed in E. coli; Lane 2, NOMV from H44/76 fHbp KO mutant; Lane 3, NOMV from mutant with over-expressed fHbp ID 1; Lane 4, NOMV from wildtype H44/76 strain. Panel B. SDS-PAGE and Co...

Factor H binding protein (fHbp) is an important antigen for vaccines against meningococcal serogroup B disease. The protein binds human factor H (fH), which enables the bacteria to resist serum bactericidal activity. Little is known about the vaccine-potential of fHbp for control of meningococcal epidemics in Africa, which typically are caused by n...

Several meningococcal vaccines under development for prevention of serogroup B disease target the factor H-binding protein (FHbp), an immunogenic lipoprotein expressed on the surface of Neisseria meningitidis. Based upon sequence and phylogenetic analyses, FHbp can be classified into 3 protein variants (1, 2 or 3) or 2 subfamilies (A or B). The pot...

Cuba ejecuta un programa de inmunización antimeningocócica desde 1991. El propósito de este estudio fue identificar posibles factores asociados a la ocurrencia de casos en grupos de vacunados. Un total de nueve casos con enfermedad meningocócica (EM) en Ciudad Habana se registraron en el período noviembre de 2003-julio 2005 en menores de 20 años, p...

In this contribution, we present a computer model of information processing within a highly distributed biological system of the human body, which is orchestrated over multiple scales of time and space: the immune system. We consider the human body and its environment as a well-orchestrated system of interacting swarms: swarms of cells, swarms of m...

The molecular diversity of a novel Neisseria meningitidis antigen, encoded by the ORF NMB0088 of MC58 (FadL-like protein), was assessed in a panel of 64 diverse meningococcal strains. The panel consisted of strains belonging to different serogroups, serotypes, serosubtypes and MLST sequence types, of different clinical sources, years and countries...

Meningococcal factor H-binding protein (fHbp) is a promising vaccine candidate that elicits serum bactericidal antibodies in humans. Based on sequence variability of the entire protein, fHbp has been divided into three variant groups or two sub-families. We recently reported that the fHbp architecture was modular, consisting of five variable segmen...

We investigated the population genetics in collections of meningococci sampled in Cuba during the period 1983-2005, thereby covering a period before and after the introduction of an antimeningococcal B-C vaccine. A total of 163 case isolates and 210 isolates from healthy carriers were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and sequence...

The difficulty of inducing an effective immune response against the Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B capsular polysaccharide has lead to the search for vaccines for this serogroup based on outer membrane proteins. The availability of the first meningococcal genome (MC58 strain) allowed the expansion of high-throughput methods to explore the prote...