Microarray technology provides insight into potential vaccine agents.

2002 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Using DNA microarray techniques, over 100 proteins having unknown functions were discovered during interactions between Neisseria meningitidis and human epithelial cells, proteins that may be effective vaccine components, according to a report by researchers in Italy.

DNA microarray methodology can provide information about changes in the entire genome of a cell as it proceeds through a process. Arrays consist of strands of DNA that are tethered to a surface in precise, known locations. When an experimental sample is added to the array, the tethered DNA binds to complementary genetic material in the sample.

Renata Grifantini and colleagues at Chiron SpA in Siena, Italy, employed DNA microarrays to "follow Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) gene regulation during interaction with human epithelial cells."

The investigators discovered that 347 genes were involved in the interaction, and 30% of those genes coded for proteins whose functions are unknown.

"The upregulated genes included transporters of iron, chloride, amino acids, and sulfate, many virulence factors, and the entire pathway of sulfur-containing amino acids," reported Grifantini and her associates.

Experiments revealed that, of the 189 genes upregulated in the process, approximately 75 encoded surface proteins, indicating that a significant reorganization of the cell membrane was stimulated by cell contact. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) ...