This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by van der Ende, A. Articles by Dankert, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by van der Ende, A. Articles by Dankert, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Bacteriol., 05 1995, 2475-2480, Vol 177, No. 9
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology

Variable expression of class 1 outer membrane protein in Neisseria meningitidis is caused by variation in the spacing between the -10 and - 35 regions of the promoter

A van der Ende, CT Hopman, S Zaat, BB Essink, B Berkhout and J Dankert
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The class 1 outer membrane protein encoded by the porA gene of Neisseria meningitidis is a candidate for a vaccine against meningococcal infection. The expression of class 1 outer membrane protein displays phase variation between three expression levels. Northern (RNA) blot and primer extension analysis revealed that this phase variation is regulated at the transcriptional level. The start site for transcription is located 59 bp upstream of the translational initiation codon. Sequence analysis of the promoter region of the porA gene of a variant without class 1 protein expression revealed nine contiguous guanidine residues between the -10 and -35 domains. Comparison of promoter sequences of different phase variants indicated that the length of the polyguanidine stretch correlated with the expression level of the class 1 outer membrane protein; the presence of 11, 10, or 9 contiguous guanidine residues results in high levels, medium levels, or no expression of class 1 mRNA, respectively. These results suggest that the variable porA expression levels seen in different isolates are modulated by guanidine residue insertion and/or deletion due to slipped-strand mispairing on the polyguanidine stretch within the intervening sequence of the -35 and -10 regions of the promoter. The phase variation of class 1 outer membrane protein may provide a molecular mechanism to evade the host immune defense. Therefore, the protective efficacy of a vaccine based on class 1 outer membrane protein may be questioned.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sorhouet Pereira, C., Regueira, M., Mollerach, M. (2008). PorA types in Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B isolated in Argentina from 2001 to 2003: implications for the design of an outer membrane protein-based vaccine. J Med Microbiol 57: 338-342 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• de Lemos, A. P. S., Yara, T. Y., Gorla, M. C. O., de Paiva, M. V., de Souza, A. L., Goncalves, M. I. C., de Almeida, S. C. G., do Valle, G. R. F., Sacchi, C. T. (2007). Clonal Distribution of Invasive Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup C Strains Circulating from 1976 to 2005 in Greater Sao Paulo, Brazil. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 1266-1273 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van der Aar, A. M.G., Sylva-Steenland, R. M. R., Bos, J. D., Kapsenberg, M. L., de Jong, E. C., Teunissen, M. B. M. (2007). Cutting Edge: Loss of TLR2, TLR4, and TLR5 on Langerhans Cells Abolishes Bacterial Recognition. J. Immunol. 178: 1986-1990 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van Passel, M. W. J., van der Ende, A., Bart, A. (2006). Plasmid diversity in neisseriae.. Infect. Immun. 74: 4892-4899 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Schneider, M. C., Exley, R. M., Chan, H., Feavers, I., Kang, Y.-H., Sim, R. B., Tang, C. M. (2006). Functional Significance of Factor H Binding to Neisseria meningitidis.. J. Immunol. 176: 7566-7575 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Giacani, L., Hevner, K., Centurion-Lara, A. (2005). Gene Organization and Transcriptional Analysis of the tprJ, tprI, tprG, and tprF Loci in Treponema pallidum Strains Nichols and Sea 81-4. J. Bacteriol. 187: 6084-6093 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Srikhanta, Y. N., Maguire, T. L., Stacey, K. J., Grimmond, S. M., Jennings, M. P. (2005). The phasevarion: A genetic system controlling coordinated, random switching of expression of multiple genes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 5547-5551 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Devoy, A. F., Dyet, K. H., Martin, D. R. (2005). Stability of PorA during a Meningococcal Disease Epidemic. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 832-837 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bruggemann, H., Henne, A., Hoster, F., Liesegang, H., Wiezer, A., Strittmatter, A., Hujer, S., Durre, P., Gottschalk, G. (2004). The Complete Genome Sequence of Propionibacterium Acnes, a Commensal of Human Skin. Science 305: 671-673 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van der Woude, M. W., Baumler, A. J. (2004). Phase and Antigenic Variation in Bacteria. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 17: 581-611 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Alcala, B., Salcedo, C., Arreaza, L., Abad, R., Enriquez, R., De La Fuente, L., Uria, M. J., Vazquez, J. A. (2004). Antigenic and/or phase variation of PorA protein in non-subtypable Neisseria meningitidis strains isolated in Spain. J Med Microbiol 53: 515-518 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Braun, D. C., Stein, D. C. (2004). The lgtABCDE Gene Cluster, Involved in Lipooligosaccharide Biosynthesis in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Contains Multiple Promoter Sequences. J. Bacteriol. 186: 1038-1049 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• de Vries, N., Duinsbergen, D., Kuipers, E. J., Pot, R. G. J., Wiesenekker, P., Penn, C. W., van Vliet, A. H. M., Vandenbroucke-Grauls, C. M. J. E., Kusters, J. G. (2002). Transcriptional Phase Variation of a Type III Restriction-Modification System in Helicobacter pylori. J. Bacteriol. 184: 6615-6623 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Urwin, R., Holmes, E. C., Fox, A. J., Derrick, J. P., Maiden, M. C. J. (2002). Phylogenetic Evidence for Frequent Positive Selection and Recombination in the Meningococcal Surface Antigen PorB. Mol Biol Evol 19: 1686-1694 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Banerjee, A., Wang, R., Supernavage, S. L., Ghosh, S. K., Parker, J., Ganesh, N. F., Wang, P. G., Gulati, S., Rice, P. A. (2002). Implications of Phase Variation of a Gene (pgtA) Encoding a Pilin Galactosyl Transferase in Gonococcal Pathogenesis. J. Exp. Med. 196: 147-162 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Snyder, L. A. S., Butcher, S. A., Saunders, N. J. (2001). Comparative whole-genome analyses reveal over 100 putative phase-variable genes in the pathogenic Neisseria spp.. Microbiology 147: 2321-2332 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moe, G. R., Zuno-Mitchell, P., Lee, S. S., Lucas, A. H., Granoff, D. M. (2001). Functional Activity of Anti-Neisserial Surface Protein A Monoclonal Antibodies against Strains of Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup B. Infect. Immun. 69: 3762-3771 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tzanakaki, G., Urwin, R., Musilek, M., Kriz, P., Kremastinou, J., Pangalis, A., Blackwell, C. C., Maiden, M. C. J. (2001). Phenotypic and Genotypic Approaches to Characterization of Isolates of Neisseria meningitidis from Patients and Their Close Family Contacts. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 1235-1240 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lafontaine, E. R., Wagner, N. J., Hansen, E. J. (2001). Expression of the Moraxella catarrhalis UspA1 Protein Undergoes Phase Variation and Is Regulated at the Transcriptional Level. J. Bacteriol. 183: 1540-1551 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van der Ende, A., Hopman, C. T. P., Dankert, J. (2000). Multiple Mechanisms of Phase Variation of PorA in Neisseria meningitidis. Infect. Immun. 68: 6685-6690 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• ARREAZA, L., BERRON, S., FERNANDEZ, S., SANTIAGO, M.I., MALVAR, A., VAZQUEZ, J.A. (2000). Investigation for a more virulent variant among the C:2b:P1.2,5 Spanish meningococcal epidemic strains by molecular epidemiology. J Med Microbiol 49: 1079-1084 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bart, A., Dankert, J., van der Ende, A. (1999). Antigenic Variation of the Class I Outer Membrane Protein in Hyperendemic Neisseria meningitidis Strains in The Netherlands. Infect. Immun. 67: 3842-3846 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van der Ende, A., Hopman, C. T. P., Dankert, J. (1999). Deletion of porA by Recombination between Clusters of Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic Sequences in Neisseria meningitidis. Infect. Immun. 67: 2928-2934 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Richardson, A. R., Stojiljkovic, I. (1999). HmbR, a Hemoglobin-Binding Outer Membrane Protein of Neisseria meningitidis, Undergoes Phase Variation. J. Bacteriol. 181: 2067-2074 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Metzgar, D., van Belkum, A., Field, D., Haubrich, R., Wills, C. (1998). Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA and Microsatellite Genotyping of Pre- and Posttreatment Isolates of Candida spp. from Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients on Different Fluconazole Regimens. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 2308-2313 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lunel, F. V., Licciardello, L., Stefani, S., Verbrugh, H. A., Melchers, W. J. G., Meis, J. F. G. M., Scherer, S., van Belkum, A. (1998). Lack of Consistent Short Sequence Repeat Polymorphisms in Genetically Homologous Colonizing and Invasive Candida albicans Strains. J. Bacteriol. 180: 3771-3778 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van Belkum, A., Scherer, S., van Alphen, L., Verbrugh, H. (1998). Short-Sequence DNA Repeats in Prokaryotic Genomes. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 62: 275-293 [Abstract] [Full Text]