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. 2017 Nov 15;2(6):e00261-17.
doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00261-17. eCollection 2017 Nov-Dec.

Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS)-Based Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B Coverage Prediction for the MenB-4C Vaccine in the United States

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Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS)-Based Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B Coverage Prediction for the MenB-4C Vaccine in the United States

Gowrisankar Rajam et al. mSphere. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Neisseria meningitidis is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in children and young adults worldwide. A 4-component vaccine against N. meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) disease (MenB-4C [Bexsero]; GSK) combining factor H binding protein (fHBP), neisserial heparin binding protein (NHBA), neisserial adhesin A (NadA), and PorA-containing outer membrane vesicles was recently approved for use in the United States and other countries worldwide. Because the public health impact of MenB-4C in the United States is unclear, we used the meningococcal antigen typing system (MATS) to assess the strain coverage in a panel of strains representative of serogroup B (NmB) disease in the United States. MATS data correlate with killing in the human complement serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) and predict the susceptibility of NmB strains to killing in the hSBA, the accepted correlate of protection for MenB-4C vaccine. A panel of 442 NmB United States clinical isolates (collected in 2000 to 2008) whose data were down weighted with respect to the Oregon outbreak was selected from the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs; CDC, Atlanta, GA) laboratory. MATS results examined to determine strain coverage were linked to multilocus sequence typing and antigen sequence data. MATS predicted that 91% (95% confidence interval [CI95], 72% to 96%) of the NmB strains causing disease in the United States would be covered by the MenB-4C vaccine, with the estimated coverage ranging from 88% to 97% by year with no detectable temporal trend. More than half of the covered strains could be targeted by two or more antigens. NHBA conferred coverage to 83% (CI95, 45% to 93%) of the strains, followed by factor H-binding protein (fHbp), which conferred coverage to 53% (CI95, 46% to 57%); PorA, which conferred coverage to 5.9%; and NadA, which conferred coverage to 2.5% (CI95, 1.1% to 5.2%). Two major clonal complexes (CC32 and CC41/44) had 99% strain coverage. The most frequent MATS phenotypes (39%) were fHbp and NHBA double positives. MATS predicts over 90% MenB-4C strain coverage in the United States, and the prediction is stable in time and consistent among bacterial genotypes. IMPORTANCE The meningococcal antigen typing system (MATS) is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based system that assesses the levels of expression and immune reactivity of the three recombinant MenB-4C antigens and, in conjunction with PorA variable 2 (VR2) sequencing, provides an estimate of the susceptibility of NmB isolates to killing by MenB-4C-induced antibodies. MATS assays or similar antigen phenotype analyses assume importance under conditions in which analyses of vaccine coverage predictions are not feasible with existing strategies, including large efficacy trials or functional antibody screening of an exhaustive strain panel. MATS screening of a panel of NmB U.S. isolates (n = 442) predicts high MenB-4C vaccine coverage in the United States.

Keywords: MATS; MenB-4C; NHBA; NadA; Neisseria meningitidis; PorA; SBA; fHbp.

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Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
MenB-4C antigen frequency distribution in NmB U.S. isolates (n = 442). (A) Prevalence of PorA VR2 subtypes. Most of the NmB isolates belonged to the PorA 16 VR2 subtype (20.4%), followed by the PorA 14 VR2 subtype (19.9%). PorA VR2 subtype 4 is expressed in 5.9% of the isolates. (B) Frequency distribution of fHbp MATS relative potencies (RPs). Among the U.S. NmB isolates tested, 262/442 (59%) expressed fHbp above the MATS lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) (gray bars). (C) Frequency distribution of NHBA MATS relative potencies (RPs) among the U.S. NmB isolates (n = 442). A total of 440 of the NmB isolates tested expressed NHBA above the MATS LLOQ (gray bars). (D) Frequency distribution of NadA MATS relative potencies (RPs). Among the U.S. NmB isolates tested, only 132 of 442 (30%) expressed NadA above the MATS LLOQ (gray bars).
FIG 2
FIG 2
MenB-4C vaccine strain coverage potential among the U.S. NmB isolates (n = 442). (A) Among the U.S. NmB isolates tested, 194/442 (44%) expressed one antigen (1Ags), 184/442 (42%) two antigens (2Ags), and 25/442 (5.7%) three antigens (3Ags) at levels over the PBT thresholds for the respective antigens. Overall, MATS estimates 91% coverage of the 4CMenB vaccine among U.S. NmB isolates. 0Ags, no antigens. (B) Contribution of individual antigens to 4CMenB coverage of the U.S. NmB isolates (n = 442). NHBA conferred maximum coverage potentials, with 83% of NHBA-positive strains exhibiting PBT values over the threshold, followed by fHbp (53%), PorA (5.9%), and NadA (2.5%). (C) Frequency of MATS phenotypes among the U.S. NmB isolates. The most frequent combination was represented by MATS double positives for fHbp and NHBA antigens (39%) followed by MATS single positives for NHBA antigen (36%). The MATS-negative phenotype accounted for 9%.
FIG 3
FIG 3
MATS coverage of NmB strains isolated in the United States during 2000 to 2008 by at least 1 antigen (95% CI) by year. Comparisons of point estimates of predicted strain coverage across groups did not identify any statistically significant difference (P = 0.567).

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