Report on the international workshop on alternatives to the murine histamine sensitization test (HIST) for acellular pertussis vaccines: State of the science and the path forward

Regulatory authorities require safety and potency testing prior to the release of each production lot of acellular pertussis (aP)-containing vaccines. Currently, the murine histamine sensitization test (HIST) is used to evaluate the presence of residual pertussis toxin in aP containing vaccines. However, the testing requires the use of a significant number of mice and results in unrelieved pain and distress. NICEATM, ICCVAM, their partners in the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods, and the International Working Group for Alternatives to HIST organized a workshop to discuss recent developments in alternative assays to the HIST, review data from an international collaborative study on non-animal alternative tests that might replace the HIST, and address the path toward global acceptance of this type of method. Currently, there are three potential alternative methods to HIST. Participants agreed that no single in vitro method was sufficiently developed for harmonized validation studies at this time. It is unlikely that any single in vitro method would be applicable to all aP vaccines without modification, due to differences between vaccines. Workshop participants recommended further optimization of cell-based assays under development. Participants agreed that the next international collaborative studies should commence in 2013 based on discussions during this workshop.     

Evaluation of an in vitro assay system as a potential alternative to current histamine sensitization test for acellular pertussis vaccines

The histamine sensitization test (HIST) is a lethal test for batch release of acellular pertussis or its combination vaccines (ACV). Large numbers of animals have been used and it is difficult to standardize. Therefore there is an urgent need to develop an in vitro alternative to HIST.An in vitro test system has been developed as a potential alternative to HIST, to examine both the functional domains of PT based on a combination of enzyme coupled-HPLC (E-HPLC) and carbohydrate binding assays. We describe here an international collaborative study, which involved sixteen laboratories from 9 countries to assess the methodology transferability of the in vitro test system and its suitability for the testing of three different types of ACV products that are currently used worldwide. This study also evaluated further the relationship between the in vivo activity by HIST and the in vitro assay system.The results showed that the methodology of the E-HPLC and carbohydrate binding assays are transferable between laboratories worldwide and is suitable for the three types of ACV products included in the study. Although direct correlation between the in vitro assay system and the in vivo HIST (temperature reduction assay) for each individual vaccine lot cannot be established due to the large variation in the HIST results, the observation that the mean estimates of the in vitro and in vivo activities gave the same rank order of the three vaccine types included in the study is encouraging. The in vitro systems provide reproducible product specific profiles which supports their use as a potential alternative to the HIST.     

Investigation of an Aerosol Challenge Model as Alternative to the Intracerebral Mouse Protection Test for Potency Assay of Whole Cell Pertussis Vaccines

The current potency test for whole cell pertussis vaccines, the intracerebral mouse protection test, is still the only assay which has shown a correlation with protection in children. However, it has considerable disadvantages as it uses a severe challenge procedure and the results tend to show significant intra- and inter-laboratory variation. An alternative assay based on non-lethal aerosol challenge of mice has been investigated as a replacement for the current intracerebral mouse protection test. Evaluation of this indicated that the aerosol system allowed consistent inoculation of bacteria into mice and gave good reproducibility. The protective capacity of different vaccine preparations was distinguished by this assay. Furthermore, the viable counts of Bordetella pertussis in the lungs of challenged mice were immunisation dose-dependent, which allowed the relative potency of vaccines to be calculated. Comparison of potency of five batches of vaccine from different manufacturers assayed by both the intracerebral and the aerosol challenge methods ranked the vaccines in identical order. The results suggest that this method has potential for use as a potency test for whole cell pertussis vaccine which would result in a great reduction in the number of animals used. It would also replace the lethal challenge by a non-lethal procedure and thereby avoid the use of the severe intracerebral challenge procedure.     

Mechanistic insight into pertussis toxin and lectin signaling using T cells engineered to express a CD8α/CD3ζ chimeric receptor

Mammalian cell-surface receptors typically display N- or O-linked glycans added post-translationally. Plant lectins such as phytohemagluttinin (PHA) can activate the T cell receptor (TCR) and other cell-surface receptors by binding to glycans and initiating receptor cross-linking. Pathogenic microorganisms such as Bordetella pertussis also express proteins with lectin-like activities. Similar to plant lectins, pertussis toxin (PTx) can activate the TCR and bind to a variety of glycans. However, whether the lectin-like activity of PTx is responsible for its ability to activate TCR signaling has not been formally proven. Here we examined the ability of PTx and a panel of lectins to activate the TCR or a CD8α/CD3ζ chimeric receptor (termed CD8ζ). We demonstrate that CD8ζ rescues PTx-induced signaling events lacking in TCR null cells. This result indicates that CD8ζ can substitute for TCR and supports the hypothesis that PTxB (functioning as a lectin) stimulates signaling via receptor cross-linking rather than by binding to a specific epitope on the TCR. Moreover, PTx is able to activate signaling by binding either N-linked or O-linked glycan-modified receptors as the TCR displays N-linked glycans while CD8ζ displays O-linked glycans. Finally, studies with a diverse panel of lectins indicate that the signaling activity of the lectins does not always correlate with the biochemical reports of ligand preferences. Comparison of lectin signaling through TCR or CD8ζ allows us to better define the structural and functional properties of lectin-glycan interactions using a biologically based signaling readout.     

Workshop on Animal free Detection of Pertussis Toxin in Vaccines--Alternatives to the Histamine Sensitisation Test

The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), the Nederlands Vaccin Instituut (NVI) and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) organised the international scientific workshop "Animal free Detection of Pertussis Toxin in Vaccines--Alternatives to the Histamine Sensitisation Test" at the PEI in Langen (Germany) on 09-10 June 2011. Twenty-seven experts (regulators, representatives from national control laboratories, vaccine manufacturers and academia) from 7 countries participated in this workshop. The meeting was triggered by the lack of satisfaction with the current safety testing for acellular pertussis vaccines, the "Histamine Sensitisation Test" (HIST) in mice, and the growing attention for the alternatives under development. The workshop objectives were: a) to review the current status of available alternative methods, b) to discuss the sensitivity that an alternative test needs, c) to plan experiments that allow for comparison of the alternative tests. The results of the workshop are summarised in this meeting report.     

Specificity and detection limit of a dermal temperature histamine sensitization test for absence of residual pertussis toxin in vaccines

Currently, an assay based on fatal sensitization of mice to histamine challenge is widely used for testing absence of residual pertussis toxin in acellular pertussis containing vaccines. For replacement of this lethal end-point assay, an alternative method based on body temperature measurement in mice has been presented, and in this study the specificity and detection limit of a dermal temperature-based assay were assessed. Test preparations containing pertussis toxin were prepared in aluminum-adjuvanted pertussis toxoid vaccine and injected intraperitoneally in histamine sensitive mice. Later the mice were challenged with histamine and the pertussis toxin-induced decrease in dermal temperature recorded. By comparison of mice treated with pertussis toxoid vaccine spiked with pertussis toxin with mice treated with pertussis toxoid vaccine alone, the assay gave a response that specifically could detect presence of pertussis toxin. The acellular pertussis containing vaccine did not interfere with the pertussis toxin-induced temperature response recorded. In tests for presence of pertussis toxin in the pertussis vaccine preparation, the detection limit of the assay was estimated to approximately 5 ng pertussis toxin per human dose of pertussis toxoid. The dermal temperature-based assay was found to be a valid method to be applied in routine quality control of vaccines.     

Identification of a 43-kilodalton human T lymphocyte membrane protein as a receptor for pertussis toxin

Pertussis toxin (PTx), an exotoxin of Bordetella pertussis has been used as a molecular probe to study stimulus-response coupling in a wide variety of cells. We have previously shown that PTx activates the same signal transduction pathways as Ag or mAb directed against the CD3-T cell Ag receptor complex in human T cells. Because the EC50 for mitogenic stimulation by PTx was 1.7 nM, we suspected that the toxin was specifically interacting with a membrane protein or receptor. We have used both chemical cross-linking and Western blotting techniques to demonstrate that PTx shows specific binding to a 43 kDa-membrane protein on cells that respond to PTx by rapid second messenger production. The PTx receptor can be detected in both the E6-1 Jurkat cell line and a CD3-TCR-negative Jurkat line, demonstrating that it is not coordinately expressed with the Ag receptor complex. The 43 kDa-protein is also found in the HPB-ALL human T cell line and PBL, but not in a murine T cell hybridoma or human neutrophils, both of which are unresponsive to PTx activation. These data suggest that the biochemical basis for the mitogenic activity of PTx may lie in its binding to a specific membrane receptor that is capable of transmitting an activation signal.     

Investigation of the lectin-like binding domains in pertussis toxin using synthetic peptide sequences. Identification of a sialic acid binding site in the S2 subunit of the toxin.

Synthetic peptides corresponding to selected sequences in the S2 and S3 subunits of pertussis toxin were prepared and evaluated for their ability to inhibit the binding of biotinylated pertussis toxin and three biotinylated sialic acid specific plant lectins to fetuin and asialofetuin. The screening results indicated that two regions in the S2 subunit corresponding to amino acids 78-98 and 123-154 inhibited pertussis toxin binding to fetuin at submillimolar concentrations, while S3 sequences corresponding to amino acids 87-108 and 134-154 inhibited pertussis toxin-biotin binding to asialofetuin albeit with lower affinity. These results confirm earlier findings, which suggest that the S2 subunit is responsible for binding sialylated glycoconjugates. This was further confirmed by the ability of S2 peptides to inhibit the binding of the lectins from Maackia amurensis and wheat germ to fetuin. Two additional peptides from the S2 subunit of pertussis toxin corresponding to sequences 9-23 and 1-23 were found to contain within their sequences a 6-amino acid fragment which has strong homology with a sequence in wheat germ agglutinin that has been shown to be a component of the sialic acid binding site as determined by x-ray crystallography. One of these sequences from S2 (9-23) was biotinylated and evaluated for its ability to bind to carbohydrate. Through a series of experiments using fetuin, asialofetuin, asialoagalactofetuin, and simple saccharides, the biotinylated peptide was shown to bind with high affinity to sialic acid-containing glycoconjugates indicating that these sequences within the S2 subunit of pertussis toxin also play an important role in binding sialic acid.     

Regulation of thyroglobulin glycosylation. A comparative study of the thyroglobulins from porcine thyroid glands and follicles in serum-free culture

Porcine thyroid cells were cultured in serum-free medium and thyrotropin was or was not added at day 4 and [3H]glucosamine at day 6 for 24 h. The major glycoprotein secreted outside the follicles proved to be thyroglobulin by immunoprecipitation, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and amino acid composition. Thyroglobulin glycopeptides were analyzed by sequential affinity chromatography on immobilized lectins and compared to chemically labeled carbohydrate chains released from thyroid-derived thyroglobulin by hydrazinolysis. 82% and 85% of the glucosamine-labeled oligosaccharides of thyroglobulin from control and stimulated cells, respectively, were unretained on concanavalin A (ConA)-Sepharose compared to 46% only for in vivo thyroglobulin. 35-42% and 33-35% of the ConA-unbound glycopeptides were retarded on erythrophytohemagglutinin and leukophytohemagglutinin under basal or stimulatory conditions, respectively, while none of the triantennary structures of in vivo thyroglobulin was. Moreover, binding to Bandieraea-agarose showed that 20% of these complex structures contained alpha-linked galactose in thyroglobulin secreted by control cells, but only 10% in the molecules derived from thyroid. When analyzed on ricin-agarose after neuraminidase treatment, the ConA-unbound glycopeptides were retained to an extent of 65% for those from control cells and 98% for those from stimulated cells. Furthermore, 15% of desialylated ConA-unbound glycopeptides from cellular origin were also found to bind to wheat germ agglutinin. Carbohydrate composition, gel chromatography, and exoglycosidase treatment further demonstrated that thyroglobulin carbohydrate chains synthesized under serum-free cell culture were essentially composed of heterogeneous multiantennary structures instead of usual biantennary and high mannose type species. Under thyrotropin stimulation, 85% of the carbohydrate chains of thyroglobulin was shown to be sialylated by high performance liquid chromatography analysis instead of 65% under basal conditions, suggesting that thyrotropin may shift terminal glycosylation of thyroglobulin from alpha-galactose to sialic acid.     

Approaches to the control of acellular pertussis vaccines.

The quality control of acellular pertussis vaccines presents particular problems related to the differences in composition and method of detoxification used in the various type of preparation. These vaccines are not amenable to potency assay by the active mouse protection test used for whole-cell pertussis vaccines and assurance of protective activity is problematic.In contrast, monitoring of these vaccines for safety is relatively straightforward and is centred on assays for the lipooligosaccharide endotoxin, active pertussis toxin and absence of reversion to toxicity of detoxified product. The absence of heat-labile toxin, tracheal cytotoxin and adenyl cyclase toxin is assumed provided that adequate validation of the process has been performed.Confirmation of the antigenic content of the detoxified bulk components is difficult to achieve by conventional binding assays based on monoclonal antibodies because of changes in accessibility of reactive sites post-toxoiding. However, single radial diffusion assay using polyclonal antisera permits estimation of pertussis toxoid (PT), filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) and pertactin (P69). Dot blot immunoassay can be used for the fimbrial agglutinogens 2 and 3 (Fim 2 and 3) and potentially could also be used to check the composition of final filling lots for PT, FHA, P69 and Fim 2 and 3.Gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting can be applied to monitor purity of purified bulk components and the characteristics of these change after chemical detoxification. Electron microscopy provides a useful semi-quantitative supporting method for checking purity of bulk components. Physico-chemical examination, particularly CD and fluorescence spectroscopy, offer a means of monitoring the consistency of detoxified bulk components.No completely satisfactory method is available for monitoring potency. Immunogenicity assays may be useful for checking consistency but do not necessarily correlate with protection. At present, active protection against aerosol challenge offers the best prospect of a functional assay.     

Mapping the expressed glycome and glycosyltransferases of zebrafish liver cells as a relevant model system for glycosylation studies

The emergence of zebrafish as a model organism for human diseases was accompanied by the development of cellular model systems that extended the possibilities for in vitro manipulation and in vivo studies after cell implantation. The exploitation of zebrafish cell systems is, however, still hampered by the lack of genomic and biochemical data. Here, we lay a path toward the efficient use of ZFL, a zebrafish liver-derived cell system, as a platform for studying glycosylation. To achieve this, we established the glycomic profile of ZFL by a combination of mass spectrometry and NMR. We demonstrated that glycoproteins were substituted by highly sialylated multiantennary N-glycans, some of them comprising the unusual zebrafish epitope Galβ1-4[Neu5Ac(α2,3)]Galβ1-4[Fuc(α1,3)]GlcNAc, and core 1 multisialylated O-glycans. Similarly, these analyses established that glycolipids were dominated by sialylated gangliosides. In parallel, analyzing the expression patterns of all putative sialyl- and fucosyltransferases, we directly correlated the identified structures to the set of enzymes involved in ZFL glycome. Finally, we demonstrated that this cell system was amenable to metabolic labeling using functionalized monosaccharides that permit in vivo imaging of glycosylation processes. Altogether, glycomics, genomics, and functional studies established ZFL as a relevant cellular model for the study of glycosylation.     

Utilization of sialic acid-binding synthetic peptide sequences derived from pertussis toxin as novel anti-inflammatory agents

Pertussis toxin, a virulence factor produced by the organismBordetella pertussis, has been shown to have functional similaritieswith selectins and to bind to similar sialic acid-containingoligosaccharides structures. Previously, we demonstrated thatthe amino-terminal region of the S2 subunit of pertussis toxincontained a short six amino acid sequence (SPYGRC) which displayedreasonable homology to a sequence that constitutes a portionof the sialic acid binding site in wheat germ agglutinin. Syntheticpeptides containing this hexapeptide motif had the ability tobind to sialic acid-containing glycoconjugates including theputative oligosaccharide receptors (sialyl Lewis X and sialylLewis A) for selectins. Control peptides containing randomizedsequences were inactive at inhibiting binding, indicating thatthe hexapeptide motif is important for interacting with sialicacid. Since pertussis toxin-derived peptides demonstrated theability to interact with selectin receptors, we speculated thatthey should antagonize selectin-mediated inflammatory activity.To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the peptides for the abilityto reduce neutrophil binding to activated endothelial cellsas well as the anti-inflammatory activity in the mouse footpadswelling assay. Both S2 peptides were active at reducing neutrophilbinding and footpad swelling, while the randomized control peptideswere inactive. anti-inflammatory agents peptides pertussis toxin     

Evaluation of whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines effectiveness in clearance of experimental B. pertussis infection in mice

The study is based on assumption that B. pertussis strains harbouring different allele variants of genes encoding subunit S1 of pertussis toxin and pertactin might be eliminated with different efficiency from lung tissue of mice which were immunized with whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines. It has been assumed that strains containing combinations of genes alleles which were not prevalent since 1990-ties are consisting of mutated strains in respect to pertussis toxin subunit S1 and pertactin, and are capable to decrease efficiency of pertussis vaccines. Experiments performed in vivo dealt with activity of tested vaccines against B. pertussis strains of different combinations of ptxS1/prn. The study indicated for lowered efficiency of whole-cell and acellular pertussis vaccines in elimination of mutated strains of B. pertussis from animal lung tissue in comparison with strains currently used for vaccine production.     

A carbohydrate domain common to both sialyl Le(a) and sialyl Le(X) is recognized by the endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule ELAM-1.

The specificity of endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule-1, ELAM-1, for binding to a panel of carbohydrate structures was determined by a sensitive cell binding assay with immobilized synthetic glycoconjugates. ELAM-1 cDNA transfectants were found to bind Sialyl Lea (sialylated lacto-N-fucopentaose II) or sialylated Lewis a antigen (NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-3(Fuc alpha 1-4)GlcNAc), as well as or slightly better than Sialyl Lex (sialylated lacto-N-fucopentaose III) or sialylated Lewis X antigen (NeuAc alpha 2-3 Gal beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc). A monoclonal antibody, HECA-452, which has been identified recently as recognizing ELAM-1 ligands in addition to those containing Sialyl Lex, was also found to bind both Sialyl Lex and Sialyl Lea. Hard sphere exo-anomeric (HSEA) calculations were performed on these two hexasaccharides. The conformations indicate that Sialyl Lea and Sialyl Lex show a high degree of similarity in both the nonreducing and reducing termini. As Lea and Lex show much weaker reactivity, the determinants recognized by ELAM-1 and HECA-452 probably involve neuraminic acid and fucose residues which on one face of both Sialyl Lex and Sialyl Lea can be similarly positioned. The finding that Sialyl Lea is a potent ligand for ELAM-1 is important, as circulating Sialyl Lea and Sialyl Lex containing mucins which are elevated in the serum of many cancer patients may block leukocyte interactions with ELAM-1 and may contribute to the pathological immunodepression observed in these patients.     

An international collaborative study of the effect of active pertussis toxin on the modified Kendrick test for acellular pertussis vaccines

Speculation that the Japanese modified intra-cerebral challenge assay, which is used in several countries for control of acellular pertussis vaccines, depends on the presence of small amounts of active pertussis toxin led to an assumption that it may not be appropriate for highly toxoided or genetically detoxified vaccines. Consequently, at the recommendation of a World Health Organisation AD Hoc Working Group on mouse protection models for testing and control of acellular pertussis vaccine, the effect of pertussis toxin on the modified intra-cerebral challenge assay (modified Kendrick, MICA) was evaluated in an international collaborative study. Results of this study showed that for genetically detoxified vaccines both with and without active pertussis toxin the MICA clearly distinguished mice vaccinated with acellular vaccines from unvaccinated mice and gave a significant dose–response relationship. However, vaccine samples containing active pertussis toxin (5 or 50 ng/single human dose) appeared to be more potent than the equivalent sample without active pertussis toxin. Similar results were also given by two respiratory infection models (intranasal and aerosol) included in the study. The results also indicated that the effect of pertussis toxin may vary depending on mouse strain.     

Single radial immunodiffusion as a method for the assay of the acellular pertussis vaccine components, pertussis toxoid, filamentous haemagglutinin and pertactin.

The development of acellular pertussis vaccines has raised a number of issues relevant to the control of these products. Of particular importance is the need for robust and accurate in vitro assays for the antigen content of the vaccines which might contain up to five different antigen components, each of which needs to be independently assayed. This paper describes a simple method for the quantification of three component antigens. Because relatively high doses of purified antigens are used in those preparations, the elimination of residual toxicity is a major concern. This is achieved by genetic modification of chemical treatment. The latter results in modification of the immunological reactivity of the antigens making direct assay by such methods as ELISA ineffective. A single radial diffusion technique using polyclonal antisera for the assay of pertussis toxoid (PTxd), chemically treated filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) and pertactin (69 kDa) has been developed. The method uses low concentrations of antisera, allowing accurate and reproducible quantification of antigen content as low as 25 microg/ml of protein for pertussis toxoid and filamentous haemagglutinin and 5 microg/ml for pertactin. Since by the addition of detergent, diffusible subunits are produced irrespective of the original physical state of the antigens, the assay is suitable for assay of these antigens after detoxification/or stabilization by chemical treatment and is able to determine the differences between preparations which have the same protein concentration but different antigenic contents. This provides a means for assuring the consistency of the antigens after detoxification/or chemical stabilization which could be used as an in-process control method for acellular pertussis vaccines.     

Crystallographic and in silico analysis of the sialoside-binding characteristics of the Siglec sialoadhesin

The Siglec family of receptors mediates cell-surface interactions through recognition of sialylated glycoconjugates. Previously reported structures of the N-terminal domain of the Siglec sialoadhesin (SnD1) in complex with various sialic acid analogs revealed the structural template for sialic acid binding. To characterize further the carbohydrate-binding properties, we have determined the crystal structures of SnD1 in the absence of ligand, and in complex with 2-benzyl-Neu5NPro and 2-benzyl-Neu5NAc. These structures reveal that SnD1 undergoes very few structural changes on ligand binding and detail how two novel classes of sialic acid analogs bind, one of which unexpectedly can induce Siglec dimerization. In conjunction with in silico analysis, this set of structures informs us about the design of putative ligands with enhanced binding affinities and specificities to different Siglecs, and provides data with which to test the effectiveness of different computational drug design protocols.     

Evidence for the dual coupling of the rat neurotensin receptor with pertussis toxin-sensitive and insensitive G-proteins

We previously demonstrated the functional coupling of the rat neurotensin receptor NTS1 with G-proteins on transfected CHO cell homogenates by showing modulation of agonist affinity by guanylyl nucleotides and agonist-mediated stimulation of [(35)S]GTP gamma S binding. In the present study, we observed that G(i/o)-type G-protein inactivation by pertussis toxin (PTx) resulted in a dramatic reduction of the NT-induced [(35)S]GTP gamma S binding whereas the effect of guanylyl nucleotide was almost not affected. As expected, NT-mediated phosphoinositide hydrolysis and intracellular calcium mobilization were not altered after PTx treatment. This suggests the existence of multiple signaling cascades activated by NT. Accordingly, using PTx and the PLC inhibitor U-73122, we showed that both signaling pathways contribute to the NT-mediated production of arachidonic acid. These results support evidence for a dual coupling of the NTS1 with PTx-sensitive and insensitive G-proteins.     

The use of the in vitro toxin binding inhibition (ToBI) test for the estimation of the potency of tetanus toxoid

The in vitro toxin binding inhibition (ToBI) test was used to determine antitoxin responses in mice immunized with tetanus toxoid. The ToBI test showed good correlation with the in vivo toxin neutralization (TN) test in titration of sera of mice immunized with various doses of DPT-Polio, DT-Polio and a tetanus reference preparation. Estimates of potency of tetanus toxoid obtained in mice by ToBI test correlated significantly with those obtained in mice by the lethal challenge test. In addition, potency values of the European reference preparation, succeedingly estimated by ToBI test and lethal challenge test in a single group of guinea-pigs, showed good correlation. From the study it is concluded that the ToBI test is a promising alternative to the toxic challenge procedure in the potency assay of tetanus toxoid vaccines. A substantial refinement and reduction in the use of animals can be achieved. Additional savings can be made by combining diphtheria and tetanus potency testing.     

Factor H binding and function in sialylated pathogenic neisseriae is influenced by gonococcal, but not meningococcal, porin

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis both express the lacto-N-neotetraose (LNT) lipooligosaccharide (LOS) molecule that can be sialylated. Although gonococcal LNT LOS sialylation enhances binding of the alternative pathway complement inhibitor factor H and renders otherwise serum-sensitive bacteria resistant to complement-dependent killing, the role of LOS sialylation in meningococcal serum resistance is less clear. We show that only gonococcal, but not meningococcal, LNT LOS sialylation enhanced factor H binding. Replacing the porin (Por) B molecule of a meningococcal strain (LOS sialylated) that did not bind factor H with gonococcal Por1B augmented factor H binding. Capsule expression did not alter factor H binding to meningococci that express gonococcal Por. Conversely, replacing gonococcal Por1B with meningococcal PorB abrogated factor H binding despite LNT LOS sialylation. Gonococcal Por1B introduced in the background of an unsialylated meningococcus itself bound small amounts of factor H, suggesting a direct factor H-Por1B interaction. Factor H binding to unsialylated meningococci transfected with gonococcal Por1B was similar to the sialylated counterpart only in the presence of higher (20 microg/ml) concentrations of factor H and decreased in a dose-responsive manner by approximately 80% at 1.25 microg/ml. Factor H binding to the sialylated strain remained unchanged over this factor H concentration range however, suggesting that LOS sialylation facilitated optimal factor H-Por1B interactions. The functional counterpart of factor H binding showed that sialylated meningococcal mutants that possessed gonococcal Por1B were resistant to complement-mediated killing by normal human serum. Our data highlight the different mechanisms used by these two related species to evade complement.