Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane antigens (OMP)

Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane antigens are a diverse group of surface-exposed proteins and structures essential for the pathogenicity and survival of the meningococcus bacterium (Pizza et al., 2000). Key components include factor H binding protein (fHbp), Neisseria adhesin A (NadA), Neisseria heparin binding antigen (NHBA), and various porins such as PorA (Vernikos & Medini, 2014). These antigens perform vital biological functions, including facilitating bacterial attachment to host nasopharyngeal cells, acquiring essential nutrients like iron, and protecting the bacteria from the host's innate immune system by recruiting negative regulators of the complement cascade (Jiang et al., 2010). In the context of Serogroup B (MenB), where the polysaccharide capsule is poorly immunogenic due to its structural similarity to human neural cell adhesion molecules, these outer membrane proteins serve as the primary targets for modern protein-based vaccines (CDC, 2023). Therapeutic intervention via vaccination, using products like Bexsero or Trumenba, induces the production of serum bactericidal antibodies (FDA, 2014). These antibodies recognize specific antigens on the bacterial surface, triggering complement-mediated lysis and opsonophagocytosis to prevent invasive diseases such as meningitis and sepsis (WHO, 2023).

Other names

Meningococcal outer membrane proteinsMeningococcal surface antigensOuter membrane proteinsMenB antigensNeisserial surface proteins

Induction of host immune response to produce complement-mediated bactericidal antibodies that target and kill the bacteria via the classical complement pathway and opsonophagocytosis.