Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Visualisation and Quantification of Intracellular Interactions of Neisseria meningitidis and Human α-actinin by Confocal Imaging
Published on: October 25, 2010
Outer membrane proteins and serosubtyping with outer membrane vesicles from clinical isolates of Neisseria
F F Arhin1, F Moreau, J W Coulton
1Meningococcal Research Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Abstract:
The currently practiced protocol for routine serosubtyping of Neisseria meningitidis relies on reactivity of whole cells to monoclonal antibodies against the class 1 outer membrane protein (OMP) in ELISAs or dot-blots. This procedure, however, failed to yield serosubtyping information in 28% (48/174) of clinical isolates (1993-1994) in the province of Québec, Canada. These 48 strains were characterized by OMP profiles and ELISAs with outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Forty out of the 48 strains expressed class 1 OMP, indicating that the inability to assign a serosubtype was not owing to the absence of the class 1 OMP. Of these, 15 (38%) were serosubtypable in ELISAs with outer membrane vesicles. Thus, 81% (141/174) of all meningococcal strains were serosubtypable with ELISAs using whole-cells or OMVs. Because the routinely used procedure for serosubtyping of meningococci is limited in providing serosubtype information, alternate procedures are proposed to obtain comprehensive information for epidemiological identification of this bacterium.
Related Concept Videos
Outer Layers of the Cell Envelope
Bacterial Meningitis
Bacterial Meningitis II: Pathophysiology

