Regulation of Mucosal Immune Response to Systemic MenB Vaccine

Meningitis or septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by group B meningococcal infection (MenB) is an important cause of death and disability in the UK. Prevention through vaccination therefore remains a key public health priority. Research from national "meningitis" vaccine programmes against MenC, Hib and Streptococcus pneumoniae show us that their success is in part due to their ability to protect both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, so-called herd immunity. This protection probably occurs by reducing carriage of these meningitis bacteria in the back of the throat (mucosal immunity). How this happens is poorly understood but our research shows that naturally acquired immunity (transient contact between the immune system and the meningococcus in the back of the throat without causing disease) may impact on this process. We believe that to develop a MenB vaccine that is able to cause mucosal immunity and prevent MenB carriage, it is important to understand the interaction between natural immunity and vaccination. In this study we propose to administer MenB vaccine to adults in order to investigate this process. Our findings will provide important insights into Men B immunity, inform the design of novel vaccine strategies and allow the rational testing of new vaccines as they become available.