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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-2-1
pubmed:abstractText
Meningococcal disease is caused by Neisseria meningitidis which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recurrences of meningococcal infection have been observed in patients with terminal complement component defects, because of the inefficient formation of the lytic membrane attack complex (MAC), C5b-9. Complement component C7 is one of the five plasma proteins to form the MAC. The gene C7 may carry mutations that cause functional abnormalities or the mere absence of the C7 protein. More than 200 patients were screened for aberrant C7 protein by isoelectric focusing (C7 IEF). These were compared with patients in whom recurrent meningococcal infection had resulted in the diagnosis of complete C7 absence (C7Q0). A higher proportion of C7 IEF variants were found in meningitis cases compared to controls (p=0.03). In contrast to C7Q0 patients, recurrent meningococcal infection was never observed in C7 IEF cases. Whereas C7Q0 sera were defective in meningococcal serogroup B and W135 killing assays, the sera of patients with C7 IEF variants were only defective in complement-mediated killing when classical pathway activation by (endogenous) anti-meningococcal antibodies was blocked. Upon sequence analysis we characterized the genetic background of the C7*6 and C7*8 IEF pattern and identified three novel C7 gene mutations in 13 C7Q0 patients. In conclusion, C7 IEF variants can determine meningococcal killing in the early stage of infection when antibody-independent killing prevails. The results endorse the lack of clinical recurrences once antibodies are present, whereas in C7Q0 patients the anti-meningococcal antibodies may not suffice to protect from recurrent meningococcal infection.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
1872-9142
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
47
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
671-7
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Case-Control Studies, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Child, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Child, Preschool, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Complement C7, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Cytotoxicity, Immunologic, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Female, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Immunoblotting, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Isoelectric Focusing, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Male, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Meningococcal Infections, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Mutation, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Neisseria meningitidis, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Pedigree, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Phenotype, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Recurrence, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Serotyping, pubmed-meshheading:19931914-Young Adult
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Complement factor 7 gene mutations in relation to meningococcal infection and clinical recurrence of meningococcal disease.
pubmed:affiliation
Academic Medical Center, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam, Emma Children's Hospital, Div of Pediatric Hematology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. t.w.kuijpers@amc.uva.nl
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article