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1: Science. 2003 Jul 18;301(5631):373-5.
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CD46 in meningococcal disease.

Johansson L, Rytkonen A, Bergman P, Albiger B, Källström H, Hökfelt T, Agerberth B, Cattaneo R, Jonsson AB.

Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center, Nobels väg 16, Box 280, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.

The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningococcal disease, because bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier in these mice. Development of disease was more efficient with piliated bacteria after intranasal, but not intraperitoneal, challenge of CD46 transgenic mice, suggesting that human CD46 facilitates pilus-dependent interactions at the epithelial mucosa. Hence, the human CD46 transgenic mice model is a potentially useful tool for studying pathogenesis and for vaccine development against meningococcal disease.

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PMID: 12869763 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]