General Information: The second of two pathogenic Neisseria, this organism causes septicemia and is the leading cause of life-threatening meningitis (inflammation of the meninges, the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord) in children. This organism typically residies in the nasopharynx cavity but can invade the respiratory epthelial barrier, cross into the bloodstream and the blood brain barrier, and cause inflammation of the meninges. Pathogenicity factors include the surface proteins (porins and opacity proteins), and the type IV pilus (which is also found in Neisseria gonorrhoeae). This organism, like Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is naturally competent, and protein complexes at the cell surface recognize the uptake signal sequence in extracellular DNA, an 8mer that is found at high frequency in Neisseria chromosomal DNA.
- Sequence; - BLASTN hit (Low score = Light, High score = Dark) - hypothetical protein; - cds: hover for description
General Information: This nontypeable strain is a clinical isolate from a pediatric patient with otitis media from Columbus Children's Hospital. Causes respiratory tract infections primarily in children. A group of organisms that are either obligate parasites or commensal organisms found in animal mucous membranes. Almost all species require the presence of important growth factors found in the blood of their hosts, including either X factor (protoporphyrin IX or heme) or V factor (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD or NADP)). This organism was first isolated in the 1890s during an influenza pandemic by Pfeiffer, and was originally thought to be the source of influenza, although later it was shown to be a secondary pathogen and may be synergistic with the influenza virus. This bacterium is one of the leading causes of meningitis in young children, and it may also cause septicemia, otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear), sinusitis (inflammation of the sinus cavity) and chronic bronchitis. It is highly adapted to its human host and typically lives in the nasopharynx and is a major cause of lower respiratory infections in infants and small children in developing countries (type 1b strain), although vaccine use has resulted in the decline of infections. The encapsulated organism can penetrate the blood and avoid both phagocytosis and complement-mediated lysis. All known strains produce neuraminidase and an IgA protease as well as fimbrial adhesins for attachment.