Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C capsular polysaccharide conjugated to tetanus toxoid (MenC-TT)

Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C capsular polysaccharide conjugated to tetanus toxoid is a vaccine component used to prevent invasive diseases caused by serogroup C meningococci. The capsular polysaccharide is a critical virulence factor that allows the bacteria to survive in the bloodstream by resisting phagocytosis (CDC, 2023). While pure polysaccharide vaccines are poorly immunogenic in infants and do not induce long-term memory, the conjugation to a tetanus toxoid carrier protein converts the polysaccharide into a T-cell dependent antigen (WHO, 2011). This modification ensures a robust immune response across all age groups, characterized by the production of high-affinity bactericidal antibodies and the establishment of immunological memory (Pollard et al., 2000). Clinically, this antigen is delivered via intramuscular injection and has been instrumental in reducing the burden of meningococcal meningitis and septicemia globally (EMA, 2021).

Other names

Meningococcal group C conjugate vaccineMenC-tetanus toxoid conjugateNeisseria meningitidis group C polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugateMenC-TT conjugate

The vaccine antigen induces a T-cell dependent immune response by presenting the serogroup C polysaccharide in a complex with a tetanus toxoid carrier protein. This allows the polysaccharide to be processed and presented to T-helper cells, which in turn stimulate B-cells to undergo isotype switching and affinity maturation, resulting in high-titer bactericidal IgG antibodies and long-lived memory B-cells (Pollard et al., 2000; WHO, 2011).