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Pathogenicity of invasive and non-invasive CC4821 Neisseria meningitidis

Xueping Liu1, Hairui Wang1, Li Xu1

  • 1National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.

BMC Microbiology
|August 5, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Highly virulent strains of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) may exist within non-invasive populations. This study reveals non-invasive isolates can display greater adhesion and invasion capabilities, highlighting the need for carrier surveillance.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Pathogen Research
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) is a nasopharyngeal colonizer that can cause invasive meningococcal disease (IMD).
  • Distinct virulence factors differentiating invasive and non-invasive N. meningitidis isolates are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate pathogenicity differences between genetically similar invasive and non-invasive N. meningitidis isolates from a CC4821 outbreak.
  • To compare adhesion, invasion, proinflammatory responses, and apoptosis induction capabilities.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed N. meningitidis isolates for adhesion to epithelial and endothelial cells.
  • Evaluated proinflammatory cytokine responses in various cell types.
  • Analyzed the capacity of isolates to induce apoptosis.

Main Results:

  • Non-invasive isolates showed significantly higher adhesion to epithelial and endothelial cells compared to invasive isolates.
  • Both isolate types induced strong proinflammatory responses, with variations observed among serogroups.
  • A specific non-invasive isolate (QH07) demonstrated superior invasion potential and apoptosis induction.

Conclusions:

  • Highly pathogenic N. meningitidis strains can be present within non-invasive carrier populations.
  • Enhanced surveillance of healthy carriers is crucial for early detection and prevention of invasive meningococcal disease.
Keywords:
Neisseria meningitidisAdhesion and invasionCell apoptosisProinflammatory cytokines

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