Immunity trials move forward
The Meningitis UK funded study being carried out by Professor Robert Read at the University of Sheffield is investigating whether adults can be successfully inoculated with Neisseria lactamica, which is harmless but is similar in form to Neisseria meningitides, which can cause meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.
N. lactamica is often present in the throats and noses of babies and young children but is not detected frequently amongst teenagers and adults, apart from nursing mothers.
The study so far
The research team looked at how often colonisation was achieved following inoculation by seeing whether the bacteria was present when the throat was swabbed. If bacteria was present the team went on to measure the immune response to see if the body makes antibodies against the organism.
Researchers then looked at whether those antibodies were also able to protect them against Neisseria meningitidis, the dangerous bacteria that can cause meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.
Dr Cariad Evans inoculating live Neisseria lactamica bacteria into the nose of a volunteer.
The next stage
The next stage in this study is to inoculate new recruits with a higher dose of N. lactamica to measure whether this will result in a greater number becoming colonised, and to repeat the inoculation of the original volunteers to see if those who were initially resistant to colonisation remain resistant with a higher dose.
Why is this work useful?
Results from this work will further understanding of the role N. lactamica can play in providing immunity. In the study so far it has been observed that those inoculated with live lactamica were not colonised by Neisseria meningitidis and if, therefore, inoculation with live lactamica impairs or even prevents colonisation by Neisseria meningitidis this may have important implications for the future. This is why it is important to discover if higher rates of colonisation can be achieved by inoculating with higher doses of N. lactamica.
Neisseria lactamica
Where has this work been presented?
The data has all been analysed from the first part of the study and has been presented at three national and international conferences: the International Pathogenic Neisseria Conference (IPNC) in Rotterdam, The British Infection Society Meeting in London and the American Society for Microbiology/ Infectious Diseases Society of America joint Meeting in Washington USA. The study has also been presented as a poster at the Sheffield Medical School Annual Research Meeting.-delete
The work is currently being written up for publication in a peer reviewed journal.
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