Exploring the proteome of meningococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccines

Neisseria meningitidis, one of the principal causes of bacterial meningitis and septicemia, continues to present a challenge for vaccine developers. While significant progress has been made in the development and implementation of conjugate vaccines, which are based on the capsular polysaccharide of the organism, this approach has failed to produce a vaccine against organisms expressing a serogroup B capsule. The completion of the first meningococcal genome sequences in 2000 provided new ways of meeting this challenge. One approach has been to learn more about meningococcal biology and pathogenesis through exploring its proteome. This article reviews the results of ten recent studies of the meningococcal proteome and compares the different methodologies employed. Not surprisingly, given the renewed impetus to develop a comprehensive vaccine and the continuing clinical development of outer membrane vesicle vaccines, many of these studies focus on the proteome of the outer membrane fraction. As in other areas of proteome research, the direct comparison of data from different studies is hampered by the lack of standardization of separation technologies and data formats. Nevertheless, proteomic analysis, especially when combined with detailed knowledge of meningococcal population structures, represents a powerful tool in the development of vaccines against this important pathogen.