The Meningococcal Vaccine Candidate Neisserial Surface Protein A (NspA) Binds to Factor H and Enhances Meningococcal Resistance to Complement

We hypothesized that increasing NspA expression would enhance fH binding. NspA expression was upregulated by placing nspA under control of the porA promoter in the background of wild-type strain Y2220 expressing sialylated LNT LOS (Cap+/LNT LOS sia+) and Y2220 Cap+/L8 LOS (Y2220 lgtA::kan). Strain Y2220 was chosen because it expresses very low levels of fHbp [13]. Thus, the effects of NspA over-expression on fH binding could be studied with minimal confounding background fH binding to fHbp. Enhanced NspA expression by the porA promoter was confirmed by western blotting (Figure 7C). Increased NspA expression was associated with increased fH binding (Figure 7D). Again, the strain that expressed the shorter (L8) LOS bound more fH that the isogenic mutant with LNT LOS.

Meningococcal strains such as, H44/76, C2120, W171 and Y2220 express low or intermediate levels of NspA, but do not bind fH when fHbp is deleted (data with H44/76 shown in Figure 1A and reference [13], Y2220 shown by solid black histogram in left panel of Figure 7D; data with C2120 Cap+ and W171 Cap+ are not shown). The Cap− mutants of these strains also show minimal fH binding when they express LNT LOS and when fHbp is deleted (Supplementary Figure S3). We speculated that further truncation of LOS in these strains would disclose fH binding. In accordance with this hypothesis, truncating LOS (lgtF mutants; HepI unsubstituted) resulted in increased fH binding (Supplementary Figure S3).

NspA mediates binding of fH to meningococci through interactions with fH short consensus repeats (SCRs) 6 and/or 7

FH comprises 20 short consensus repeat (SCR) domains arranged as a single chain [43]. Recently, the cocrystal complex of variant 1 fHbp with fH SCRs 6–7 showed an extensive area of interaction of fHbp with fH SCR 6 and minor points of contact with SCR 7 [14]. Site-directed mutagenesis studies also localized the fHbp binding domain in fH to SCR 6 [44]. To determine the fH SCRs involved in binding to NspA, we utilized fusion proteins that contain contiguous fH SCRs fused at their C-terminus to the Fc portion of IgG2a [44], [45]. The Fc fragment served as a ‘tag’ for symmetric detection of all fusion proteins. The ability of five fH/Fc fusion constructs (SCR 1–5/Fc, SCR 1–7/Fc, SCR 6–10/Fc, SCR 11–15/Fc and SCR 16–20/Fc) to bind to meningococcal strain A2594 Cap− L8 LOS and its isogenic fHbp−, NspA− and fHbp− NspA− double negative mutants, was examined by flow cytometry. Only those fH/Fc proteins that contained SCRs 6 and 7 (SCR 1–7/Fc, and SCR 6–10/Fc) bound to the NspA expressing strains that lacked fHbp. This result indicates that like fHbp, NspA binds to SCR 6 and/or 7. As expected, the SCR 6/7 containing constructs bound to fHbp expressing strains while none of the fH SCR/Fc constructs bound to mutants lacking both fHbp and NspA.

Factor H-like molecule 1 (FHL-1) comprises fH SCRs 1–7 plus four unique additional C-terminal amino acids (SFTL) [46]. FHL-1 also bound to Cap− fHbp− A2594 (Supplementary Figure S4), supporting the conclusion that SCRs 6 and/or 7 play a role in binding of fH to NspA. This finding is consistent with the NspA binding site residing in fH SCRs 6 and/or 7.

Together, these data suggest that SCR 6 and/or SCR 7 are important for binding of fH to NspA. Although less likely, these data do not unequivocally exclude a role for SCRs 8, 9 and 10 in binding of fH to NspA; studies to precisely localize the NspA binding region in fH are underway.

Species-specificity of fH binding to N. meningitidis expressing NspA

N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae are exclusively human pathogens and the ability of these pathogens to evade complement-mediated killing in a species-specific fashion may contribute to the narrow host range of infection [45], [47], [48]. We have shown previously that gonococci bind specifically to human C4BP (and in some instances, chimpanzee C4BP) [48] and human fH [45]. Likewise, binding of fH to meningococcal fHbp is specific for human fH [47]. To determine if fH binding to NspA is also species specific we examined binding of fH from different primate species to N. meningitidis strain A2594 Cap− L8 LOS and its isogenic fHbp−, NspA− and fHbp− NspA− double-negative mutants by Western blotting (Figure 9A). Strains were incubated with 10% heat-inactivated human or primate sera to assess direct binding of fH to bacteria. Heat inactivation destroys heat labile complement components while leaving fH intact; inactivation of complement is necessary to prevent detection of complement C3b-mediated binding of fH to meningococci. Bound fH was detected by Western blot using polyclonal goat anti- human fH Abs. This Ab reacts with fH in the primate sera tested (Figure 9B) and as previously reported, detection of rhesus fH was slightly weaker [45]. Human fH bound well to all strains that expressed NspA (Figure 9A), but only weakly to strains that expressed fHbp but lacked NspA, which is consistent with the fH binding data present in Figure 6B. Very weak binding of chimpanzee fH to strains expressing NspA was also noted (Figure 9A). None of the strains tested bound rhesus fH when incubated with heat-inactivated rhesus sera (Figure 9A). The fHbp− NspA− strain showed barely detectable binding to human fH, and as expected, did not bind fH from the other primate species tested (Figure 9A).

NspA expression enhances serum resistance and inhibits C3 deposition

fH functions to down-regulate the alternative pathway of complement and bacteria that bind to fH would be expected to be more resistant to the bactericidal action of serum than those that do not bind to fH. To determine the relative roles of fHbp and NspA in serum resistance we examined strains BZ198 Cap+ and A2594 Cap− each expressing L8 LOS and their isogenic mutants that lacked either fHbp or NspA or both for their ability to resist killing by normal human serum. The concentration of serum used was determined based on the survival of each parent strain in serum (Supplementary Figure S5). Loss of NspA expression in both instances resulted in greater sensitivity to complement-dependent killing (Figure 10A). It is noteworthy that in these high NspA-expressing strains, deleting fHbp did not negatively impact survival. Deleting fHbp from the high fHbp-expressing strain H44/76, which expresses low levels of NspA, results in decreased serum resistance [13], [42].

fH limits C3 deposition by virtue of its ability to act as a cofactor in the factor I-mediated cleavage of C3b [15] and irreversibly dissociate alternative pathway C3 convertases (decay-accelerating activity) [16], [17]. As expected, mutant strains that lacked NspA bound more C3 than their NspA-sufficient ‘parent’ strains. The median fluorescence of C3 binding was ∼5-fold more with A2594 Cap−/L8 LOS/NspA− and ∼2.5-fold more with BZ198 Cap+/L8 LOS compared to their respective isogenic parent strains (Figure 10B). fH binding (Figure 5B) mirrored survival of bacteria in serum (Figure 10A) confirming that complement regulation by NspA occurred at the level of C3 deposition. Similarly, C3 deposition on BZ198 Cap+/LNT sia+/NspA− was ∼1.5-fold higher than on BZ198 Cap+/LNT sia+ (data not shown).

Complementation of fHbp− NspA− double mutants with NspA restores binding of fH and serum resistance to meningococci

Meningococcal strain A2594 Cap− L8 LOS lacking both fHbp and NspA was complemented, in trans, with NspA_A2594 to verify that the loss in fH binding and concomitant decrease in serum resistance were not due to secondary changes. As expected, complementation with NspA_A2594 resulted in expression of NspA as judged by both western blot (data not shown) and flow cytometry (Figure 11A). Restoration of NspA expression also restored the ability of fHbp− NspA− double mutants to bind fH (Figure 11A). The ability of the complemented strains to resist killing by NHS was assessed in a serum bactericidal assay. As shown above (Figure 10A), A2594 Cap− L8 LOS lacking both fHbp and NspA was more sensitive to serum killing than the parent strain expressing both of these proteins. Complementation with NspA, alone, restored serum resistance to the mutant strain lacking both fH ligands, albeit to levels less than that of the parent strain (Figure 11B). All three strains were completely (100%) killed in 6.6% NHS (data not shown). Overall, these data indicate that the lack of fH binding and decreased serum resistance observed in strains lacking NspA is because of lack of NspA expression and not the result of secondary changes in these isogenic strains.

Discussion

Several pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses bind to fH, which inhibits complement activation on their surface (reviewed in [49], [50]). This work has characterized NspA as a ligand for human fH and has shown that NspA plays a role in conferring serum resistance to meningococci even in the absence of expression of the previously characterized fH-binding meningococcal molecule, fHbp. NspA interacts with fH SCRs 6 and/or 7 and like fHbp, preferentially binds to human fH.

It is interesting that all naturally occurring meningococcal strains reported thus far express both fHbp [12], [51] and NspA [52], suggesting an important role for these proteins in meningococcal pathogenesis. Prior to this study the function of NspA had not been defined. The factors that influence fH binding to NspA on intact bacteria have been characterized in this study, which provides insights into the pathophysiological conditions or niches where NspA-mediated fH binding may assume an important role. Meningococcal strains that are isolated from the nasopharynx are often unencapsulated and/or express L8 LOS [53]; high binding of fH to NspA under these conditions could point to a key role for NspA in survival of meningococci during nasopharyngeal colonization (a prerequisite of invasive disease) and in survival of carrier strains. The positive effects of NspA on bacterial survival are also seen in encapsulated strains that are high NspA expressers such as BZ198 when they express L8 LOS (Figure 10A). Meningococcal isolates often express more than one LOS species because many of the genes involved in LOS biosynthesis, including lgtA, are phase variable [28]. Thus, for example, a strain could express a combination of LNT and L8 LOS species [54], [55]. It is not clear how LOS sialylation, which represents elongation beyond the LNT structure, enhances fH binding to NspA. One possibility is that LOS and NspA lie in close proximity and expression of the unsialylated LNT hinders fH from binding to NspA; sialylation may alter the conformation of LOS thereby better exposing the fH binding region of NspA. Another possibility is that LOS sialic acid itself may act as part of the docking site for fH. Nevertheless, LOS sialylation is not essential for fH binding to NspA on intact organisms. Sialylation of N. gonorrhoeae LNT LOS also enhances fH binding, but the interaction in that instance requires the concomitant presence of the gonococcal PorB molecule [56]. LPS glycan extensions can negatively impact binding of complement inhibitors to gram-negative bacteria. As an example, expression of O-antigenic repeats on the LPS of Y. enterocolitica can block binding of fH to the Ail protein [27]. Neisseriae lack O-antigenic repeats, yet subtle changes in the core LOS structure can have profound impacts on the binding of complement inhibitors and serum resistance. The presence of the proximal Glc off HepI appears to be necessary for optimal C4b-binding protein (C4BP) binding to porin (Por) B.1B (Por1B)-expressing gonococci [29].

NspA forms an eight-stranded anti-parallel β-barrel and has four putative surface exposed loops. A conformational epitope that includes NspA loop 3 appears to be important for binding of mAbs Me-7 [57] and 14C7 [40] both of which inhibit fH binding to NspA on meningococci. It is therefore possible that NspA loop 3 plays a role in the interaction with fH, although steric hindrance by the surface-bound mAb could account for the ability of the mAbs to block fH binding. It would be of interest to determine whether NspA plays a role in fH binding to gonococci because of the extensive (∼95%) sequence similarity between gonococcal and meningococcal NspA.

Sera from humans may contain naturally-occurring antibodies that are directed against LNT-expressing LOS and is bactericidal against group B meningococci [58]. Phase variation of lgtA that results in L8 LOS expression could subvert killing by these naturally occurring anti-LNT antibodies. However, truncation of the HepI chain of LOS could have a negative effect on serum resistance because of increased accessibility of the 3-phosphoethanolamine (PEA) residue on HepII to C4b [59]; C4b amide-linked to PEA can lead to downstream complement activation that may result in bacterial killing. By virtue of enhanced fH binding, high NspA expressers may be able to dampen excessive complement activation that is initiated by C4b when LOS is truncated.

It is noteworthy that loss of NspA (leaving fHbp intact) from a high NspA expressing strain such as A2594 (intermediate fHbp expression levels) resulted in increased C3 deposition on bacteria, while loss of fHbp (leaving NspA intact) in that strain did not enhance C3 deposition (Figure 10B). Strain BZ198 also expresses high levels of NspA and intermediate levels of fHbp; loss of NspA resulted in greater enhancement of C3 deposition relative to that seen when fHbp was deleted (Figure 10B). We have shown previously that loss of fHbp in high-fHbp expressing strains such as H44/76 (expresses low levels of NspA) also increases C3 deposition [13], [42]. The relative abilities of the two ligands to regulate C3 deposition on different strains may reflect heterogeneity in their expression levels. In addition, variables such as the amount of capsule expression and the diversity of HepI LOS extensions could affect the amount of fH binding to NspA and thereby its ability to regulate C3 deposition. The relative roles of fHbp and NspA in regulating complement activation in the context of expression of the different capsular groups and varying LOS structures is a complex subject that merits further study. However, it is evident from the current study and from previous work [13], [42], [60], [61] that both molecules contribute to the ability of meningococci to resist killing by normal human serum.

fHbp has shown considerable promise as a vaccine candidate [20]. A vaccine that has fHbp as a component could lead to selection of meningococcal strains that either do not express, or express very low amounts of fHbp. Under such circumstances, high NspA expressers may have a survival advantage. Our data suggest that including NspA as part of a vaccine strategy that targets fH-binding proteins on N. meningitidis could, in theory, overcome this potential obstacle. Indeed, NspA has been intensively investigated as a vaccine candidate against group B meningococci [62], [63]. Both mAbs against NspA (including Me-7 and 14C7) and polyclonal Abs against NspA (raised by immunization of mice with meningococcal outer membrane vesicles that contained native NspA) were bactericidal and protected against experimental murine infection [52], [64]. Although recombinant NspA expressed in E. coli and purified from inclusion bodies elicited a good antibody response in humans, these antibodies were not bactericidal [62]. Recombinant NspA does not have the same conformation as NspA present in the meningococcal outer membrane [40], [64], suggesting that protective antibodies may be directed against conformational epitopes. Another intriguing possibility, in light of our observations that binding of fH to NspA is restricted to humans, is that human fH may bind to NspA in the vaccine formulation, which could have attenuated the antibody response to surface-exposed (and fH binding) NspA epitopes that otherwise would have elicited a more productive bactericidal antibody response; this possibility has been raised previously with regard to the use of fH binding proteins as vaccines [14], [65].

In summary, we have identified an important complement-evasion function for NspA, an antigen that has been studied for its potential as a group B meningococcal vaccine candidate. In addition to the implications for fHbp-based vaccines that are currently being developed, these findings set the stage for further studies to characterize NspA-fH interactions that could boost efforts to develop better meningococcal vaccines.

Materials and Methods

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. All subjects who donated blood for this study provided written informed consent.

Bacterial strains, mutagenesis and bacterial growth conditions

The relevant phenotypes of the mutants created in N. meningitidis are listed in Table 1. The characteristics meningococcal strains used in this study are listed in Supplementary Table S2. Bacteria were routinely grown on chocolate agar plates supplemented with IsoVitaleX equivalent at 37°C in an atmosphere enriched with 5% CO₂. GC plates supplemented with IsoVitaleX equivalent were used for antibiotic selection. Antibiotics where used at the following concentrations when indicated; 100 µg/ml kanamycin, 7 µg/ml chloramphenicol, 5 µg/ml erythromycin, 50 µg/ml spectinomycin and 5 µg/ml tetracycline. Escherichia coli strains (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) were routinely cultured in Luria Bertani (LB) broth or on LB agar. Antibiotic were used as needed at the following concentrations: 50 µg/ml kanamycin, 150 µg/ml ampicillin, 50 µg/ml chloramphenicol, 400 µg/ml erythromycin, 100 µg/ml spectinomycin and 12.5 µg/ml tetracycline.

Construction of lgtA [59], lgtF [59], mynB [56], siaD [59], lst [66] and fHbp [13] deletion mutants have all been described previously. Loss of capsule expression was verified by either colony hybridization or flow cytometry with the appropriate serogroup specific anti-capsule Ab. Anti-group A mAb JW-A-1 (IgG2a), anti-group C mAb KS-C-1 (IgG3), anti-group W-135 mAb JW-W1b (IgG2b) and anti-group Y mAb JW-Y2a (IgM) were provided by Dr. Dan M. Granoff (Childrens Hospital Oakland research Institute, Oakland, CA), while anti-group B mAb 2-2-B (IgM) was obtained from the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, U.K). In addition, inactivation of siaD (mynB in the case of group A) was verified by PCR. For serogroups A, C, Y and W-135 the confirmatory PCR was the amplification of a fragment corresponding to the predicted size of siaD (or mynB for group A) plus the resistance marker (∼2.5kb for serogroup A using primers NT2 5′-ATGATGGTAATGGGAAAAGAGT-3′ and NT4 5′-ATACTTAATAACAGAAAATGGCG-3′; ∼2.9 kb for serogroup C using primers BF 5′-AGCGTCAACGAATATGAAACATTAT-3′ and CR 5′-CTGCTTAACTTTATTAAGGGCATTG-3′ and ∼2.8 kb from serogroups W-135 and Y strains using primers W1618 5′-ATTCCCCATGAACTACATCAGAATA-3′ and W2766 5′-TAATGCAAACTCAATTGCAAAACTA-3′) coupled with the absence of a wildtype gene. In serogroup B strains siaD is inactivated with the 8.9 kb Tn1725 and a lack of amplification of the wild type siaD, in the presence of a positive control reaction, was used to demonstrate the lack of the wild type siaD. All Cap− serogroup B strains were verified by lack of reactivity to the anti-group B capsule mAb 2-2-B. LOS structure was verified in all strains and mutants by silver staining of protease K digested bacterial lysates that had been separated on 12% Bis-Tris gels (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) using MES buffer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) as described previously [67]. In addition insertions in lgtA or lgtE were verified by PCR.

Mutant derivatives of strain A2594 that lacked PorA or PorB3 expression were constructed using DNA extracted from PorA and PorB3 deletion mutants in strain H44/76 (porA::kan and porB3::erm, respectively) that were provided by Dr. Peter Van der Ley (Laboratory of Vaccine Research, Netherlands Vaccine Institute, Bilthoven, The Netherlands).

NspA deletion mutants were constructed as follows. A 1.3 kb fragment of DNA containing nspA was amplified from N. meningitidis strain A2594 using the primers nspA_F114 (5′-CTCTTTAGGTTCTGCCAAAGGCTTC-3′) and nspA_R1122 (5′-ATGTTGTGAAGTGGGAAAGTGTTGC-3′) and the amplicon was cloned into pCR2.1-TOPO (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). The resulting plasmid was digested with HincII, deleting an internal 130 bp fragment of nspA, and ligated to a blunt spectinomycin resistance cassette containing aadA. Linearized plasmid DNA was used to transform N. meningitidis strains as previously described [68]. PCR was used to confirm the nspA::spc genotype and Western blot using anti-NspA mAb Me-7 were performed to demonstrated loss of NspA.

A derivative of the E. coli-Neisseria shuttle vector pFP12 was used to complement the nspA::spc mutations in trans. A 1,131 bp fragment, containing nspA with its native promoter and terminator was amplified from chromosomal DNA prepared from strain A2594 using the primers NspA-R1213 StuI 5′-GACAGGCCTGTTTTGGACATTTCGGATTCCTC-3′ and NspA-F102 SphI 5′-GACGCATGCCACTATATAAGCGCAAACAAATCG-3′. The amplified DNA was digested with StuI and SphI and cloned into identically digested pFP12-GNA1870 [69]. The resulting construct was then digested with ScaI to allow for the insertion of a blunt (BsrBI) TetM cassette. The resulting plasmid construct, pFP12 NspA_A2594Tet, was confirmed by DNA sequencing and by Western blot analysis of E. coli cell lysates using ME-7. A2594 Cap− L8 (Cm^R, Kan^R) and its fHbp− (erm^R) and NspA− (spc^R) and fHbp− NspA− double mutants were transformed with pFP12 NspA_A2594Tet as described above. Tetracycline resistant transformants were screened by PCR and Western blot with Me-7. In addition the DNA sequence of the complementing nspA was verified.

Expression of NspA was up-regulated in some strains that naturally express low levels of NspA by replacing the nspA promoter with the promoter of porA. In brief, an approximately 200 bp fragment of DNA containing the promoter region of porA was amplified by PCR from genomic DNA isolated from group B strain M986 using the following primers: 5′-CTCATCGATGGGCAAACACCCGATACG-3′ (introducing site ClaI) and 5′-CTCACGCGTGAGGTCTGCGCTTGAATTGTG-3′ (introducing site MluI). This fragment was ligated into a 700 bp region upstream of nspA amplified by PCR from Z1092 genomic DNA using primers 5′-CATAAGCTTCGTAGCGGTATCCGGCTGC-3′ and 5′-CGCTGCCGAAGATTTGCCGGCAAATCTTCGGCAGCG-3′. This, in turn, was ligated into the EcoRI and HindIII sites of the cloning vector pGEM3zf(-) (Promega Corporation, Madison, Wisconsin). An erythromycin resistance cassette, ermB, was inserted upstream of the porA promoter within the fragment upstream of nspA. N. meningitidis strain Z1092 was transformed by adding plasmid DNA in 10 mM MgCl₂ to colonies of Z1092 and incubating at 37°C enriched with 5% CO₂ for 5 hours prior to plating onto chocolate agar with 5 µg/ml or erythromycin. The level of NspA expression in erythromycin-resistant colonies was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting using murine antisera raised against His-tagged-NspA. All analyzed transformants expressed approximately 5-times the level of NspA when compared with the wild-type strain (data not shown). DNA extracted from Z1092 overexpressing NspA was used to transform strain Y2220 and Y2220/L8 LOS; colonies resistant to erythromycin were screened for increased NspA production compared to the parent strain by Western blotting.

E. coli BL21 (DE3) pGMS 1.0 harboring a functional copy of nspA and the preparation of microvesicles that contain NspA have been described previously [40].

For simplicity, the capsule and LOS phenotype of each mutant has been designated as follows: encapsulated strains, Cap+; unencapsulated mutants, Cap−; sialylated lacto-N-neotetraose LOS, LNT sia+; unsialylated lacto-N-neotetraose LOS, LNT; LOS with lactose extension off HepI (lgtA mutants), L8 LOS and LOS with no HepI saccharide extensions (lgtF mutants), HepI unsubstituted.

Sera

Serum collected from a healthy human volunteer without a history of meningococcal disease and who had not received any meningococcal vaccines (normal human serum; NHS) was aliquoted and stored at −80°C till used. Hemolytic activity of the serum was confirmed using the Total Haemolytic Complement assay (Binding Site, Birmingham, U.K). Chimpanzee, baboon and rhesus sera were purchased from Bioreclamation (Bioreclamation, Hicksville, NY). Complement activity in the sera was destroyed by heating at 56°C for 30 minutes. The serum used did not contain any fHbp- or NspA-specific antibodies as revealed by western blots of whole bacterial lysates that were probed with serum.

Flow cytometry

Flow cytometry to detect bound fH was performed as described previously [44]. Briefly, bacteria grown overnight on chocolate agar plates were washed with Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) containing 1mM Ca²⁺ and 1 mM Mg²⁺ (HBSS⁺⁺) and suspended to a final concentration of 3×10⁸ cells/ml; 10⁸ organisms were centrifuged and incubated with fH purified from human plasma (Complement Technology, Inc.; concentration specified for each experiment). Bound fH was detected using either affinity-isolated sheep anti-human fH (Lifespan Biosciences) or an anti-fH mAb (Quidel, catalog no. A254 (mAb 90×)), as available. While the polyclonal antibody provided higher sensitivity, relative differences in fH binding among strains using the two reagents were similar. FITC conjugated anti-sheep IgG or anti-mouse IgG (Sigma) were used as secondary antibodies. All reaction mixtures were carried out in HBSS⁺⁺/1% BSA in a final volume of 50 µl. Flow cytometry was performed using a FACSCalibur instrument (Becton Dickinson) and data analysis was performed using the FlowJo data analysis software package (www.TreeStar.com).

FH / murine Fc fusion constructs that contain contiguous fH SCR domains (SCRs 1–5, 1–7, 6–10, 11–15, or 16–20) fused to the N-terminus of the Fc fragment of murine IgG2a (fH/Fc fusion proteins) have been described in detail previously [45]. To detect binding of recombinant fH/Fc fusion proteins, bacteria were incubated with concentrated tissue culture supernatant containing 0.5 µg of recombinant fH/Fc protein (as determined by ELISA) in a final reaction volume of 100 µl for 30 min at 37°C. After washing, FITC-labeled goat anti-mouse IgG (Sigma-Aldrich) diluted 1∶100 in 1% BSA/HBSS++ was used to detect bacteria-bound fH/Fc fusion proteins.

Recombinant Factor H-like protein-1 (FHL-1) was generated as previously described [44]. Following incubation of bacteria with 0.5 µg purified FHL-1, bound FHL-1 was detected using monoclonal (mAb) 90× (specific for SCR1; detects both full-length fH and FHL-1) and FITC-conjugated anti-mouse IgG (Sigma) as previously described [44].

In some experiments, mAbs against NspA (mAb Me-7; IgG2a [57] and 14C7 [40]) were used to block fH binding to intact bacteria; mAb P1.9 against outer membrane protein PorA of strain A2594 (National Institute of Biological Standards and Control) was used as a control. Bacteria were incubated with tissue culture supernatants containing mAbs Me-7 or P1.9 (the concentration of mAb in supernatants was estimated by western blotting where serial dilutions of the supernatants were compared against purified mouse IgG standards of the same subclass) or purified mAb 14C7 for 15 min at 37°C followed by addition of purified fH. The reaction mixture was incubated for an additional 15 min and bound fH was detected using sheep anti-human fH as described above.

C3 deposition on bacteria that were incubated with normal human serum (concentration specified for each experiment) was measured using FITC-conjugated sheep anti-human C3 (Biodesign/Meridian Life Science, Inc.) as described previously [13].

Bacterial membrane preparations

Membranes were prepared from N. meningitidis strains A2594 and H44/76 and their fHbp deletion mutants as previously described [13], [70]. Briefly, bacteria harvested from five plates after overnight culture on chocolate agar were suspended in normal saline. Bacteria were washed, suspended in 5 ml of PBS containing 10 mM EDTA, and incubated at 60°C for 30 min. The bacterial suspensions were sheared by sequential passage through progressively smaller-gauge needles (18- through 25-gauge). The resultant suspension was centrifuged at 5000×g for 10 min at 4°C to separate any intact cells and debris. The supernatant was collected and ultracentrifuged at 80,000×g for 90 min at 4°C to yield a pellet that was enriched in outer membranes.

Western blotting

Far Western blotting was used to assess fH binding to membrane preparations as described previously [13]. Membrane proteins were separated on a 4–12% Bis-Tris gel (Invitrogen Life Technologies) using MOPS running buffer. Proteins were transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (Millipore) and blocked with PBS-1% dry milk for 30 min at room temperature. Blocked membranes were incubated overnight at 4°C with fH (1 µg/ml in PBS-0.05% Tween 20). fH-binding proteins were detected using affinity-isolated sheep anti-human fH (1 µg/ml in PBS-0.05% Tween 20) and disclosed using anti-sheep IgG-alkaline phosphatase.

Western blotting was also used to assess NspA and fHbp expression. To detect NspA, membranes were probed with tissue culture supernatants that contained anti-NspA mAb Me-7 followed by anti-mouse IgG alkaline phosphatase. To detect fHbp (variant 1, 2 and 3), membranes were probed with rabbit polyclonal anti-serum that recognized variants 1, 2 and 3 fHbp diluted 1∶1000 in TBS 0.02% Tween 20 followed by anti-rabbit IgG alkaline phosphatase. To ensure equal loading across lanes, membranes were incised horizontally at the level of the ∼40–50 kD marker prior to the blocking step and stained with Coomassie blue (Imperial Protein Stain kit, Pierce).

Binding of human, chimpanzee and rhesus macaque fH to neisserial strains was measured by Western blotting as described previously [45]. Briefly, 10⁸ bacteria were suspended in HBSS²⁺ and incubated for 30 min at 37°C with 10% (v/v) heat-inactivated NHS or heat-inactivated chimpanzee or rhesus serum in a final reaction volume of 100 µl. Bacteria were washed three times in HBSS²⁺, the bacterial pellets were lysed with lithium dodecyl sulfate sample buffer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad CA) and liberated fH was detected after electrophoresis and transfer to PVDF using goat polyclonal anti-human fH (Bethyl Laboratories, Montgomery, TX) that also recognizes chimpanzee and rhesus fH [45], followed by alkaline phosphatase-conjugated anti-goat IgG (Sigma). Human and the non-human primate sera alone served as positive controls.

MALDI-TOF analysis

Outer membrane proteins were separated by electrophoresis as described above and stained with colloidal Coomassie brilliant blue (Sigma-Aldrich). The band corresponding to the ∼17 kDa band that bound fH was excised, washed extensively and then digested “in gel” with trypsin as described elsewhere [71]. Digested peptides were further purified via micro Zip Tipping. Briefly, samples dried down to a 10 µl volume were acidified with 1–2 µl of 1% TFA and then loaded on a Zip Tipμ-C18 (Millipore, Corp) that had been pre-equilibrated with 0.1% TFA. After washing with twice with 10 µl aliquots of 0.1%, TFA samples were deposited directly onto the MALDI sample target using 1 µl of Matrix solution (15 mg/ml of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic Acid (MassPrep DHB, Waters Corp.) in 50∶50 acetonitrile: 0.1% TFA). Samples were allowed to air dry prior to insertion into the mass spectrometer. Analysis was performed on a Kratos Axima QIT (Shimadzu Instruments) matrix-assisted-laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometer. Peptides were analyzed in positive ion mode in mid-mass range (700–3000 Da). The instrument was externally calibrated with Angiotensin II (1046.54 Da), P14R (1533.86 Da) and ACTH (18–39) (2465.20 Da). Precursors were selected based on signal intensity at a mass resolution width of 250 for CID fragmentation using Argon as the collision gas. Database searches were performed in house with Mascot (Matrix Sciences, Ltd.) using the Peptide Mass Fingerprint program for MS data and the MS/MS Ion Search program for CID data. All identifications were confirmed or established with CID (MS/MS) data.

Serum bactericidal assays

Susceptibility of meningococci to complement mediated killing was determined using a serum bactericidal assay as described previously [44], [72]. The optimal concentration of serum was determined empirically for each strain (Supplementary Figure S5). Bacteria from an overnight culture on chocolate agar plates were inoculated onto fresh chocolate agar and allowed to grow for ∼6 h at 37°C in 5% CO₂. Normal human serum was obtained from a healthy human volunteer and stored at −70°C till used in bactericidal assays. Briefly, 2000 CFUs of meningococci were incubated with serum (concentrations specified for each experiment) in a final reaction volume of 150 µl. Aliquots of 25 µl were plated in duplicate at the start of the assay (t₀) and after incubating the reaction mixture at 37°C for 30 min (t₃₀). Survival was calculated as the number of viable colonies at t₃₀ relative to baseline colony counts at t₀. Each experiment was repeated at least three times.

ELISA to detect binding of fH to microvesicles containing NspA

E. coli BL21(DE3) (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) harboring recombinant NspA on plasmid pGMS 1.0 and E. coli BL21(DE3) transformed with pBluescript II SK+ (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) were used to prepare microvesicles as previously described [40]. An ELISA was used to detect fH binding to NspA containing vesicles. Microtiter wells were coated with either NspA-producing vesicles or with control vesicles each at a concentration of 10 µg/ml in PBS overnight at 22°C. Nonspecific biding sites were blocked with PBS/2.5% BSA for 2 h at 37°C. To demonstrate the ability of anti-NspA mAb 14C7 to block fH binding to NspA-containing vesicles, select wells were incubated with mAb 14C7 (10 µg/ml) in PBS/0.05% Tween 20 for 1 h at 37°C; the remaining wells were incubated with PBS/Tween alone. fH (concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 µg/ml) was then added to wells for 1 h at 37°C, and bound fH was detected using polyclonal sheep anti-human fH followed by anti-sheep IgG conjugated with alkaline phosphatase, each for 1 h at 37°C.

Statistical methods

Cuzick's nonparametric test for trend across ordered groups [73] was used to determine if there was a trend between the binding of fH and the length of glycan extensions from the HepI chain of LOS. Median fluorescence values from three independent experiments were used in the analysis. Strains expressing LNT LOS, L8 LOS and unsubstituted LOS were ordered decreasingly by the length of the HepI glycans extensions and scored as 5, 3 and 1, respectively. The measurement of binding was divided by the value of the control for normalizing. The analysis was done separately for strains A2594 Cap+ and A2594 Cap−. The results showed a statistically significant trend between fH binding and decreasing length of HepI glycan extensions for both Cap+ and Cap− strains (Table S2; results are the same for A2594 Cap+ and A2594 Cap−, p = 0.007).

For bactericidal assays the average survival was calculated from at least three independent experiments and error bars represent the standard deviation. A t-test was used to determine significance.

Supporting Information

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