{
  "abstract": "STING agonists are emerging vaccine adjuvants; however, only cyclic dinucleotides (low permeability and stability) have been tested against pathogenic bacteria. We examined diABZI, a non-nucleotide STING agonist active in human and murine orthologs, combined with the Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) Adhesin Complex Protein, a conserved adhesin and human lysozyme C inhibitor, as a gonococcal vaccine. Intranasal administration of recombinant ACP (rACP)+diABZI accelerated gonococcal clearance, in contrast to rACP or rACP+CpG+MPLA, despite comparable antibody responses. While both diABZI and CpG+MPLA induced TH1, diABZI also induced TH17 polarization. Peptide mapping localized the immunodominant T cell epitopes to the ACP-lysozyme C interface. rACP+diABZI elicited higher human serum bactericidal activity (hSBA), that correlated with Ng clearance, and antibodies that reversed human lysozyme C inhibition and interfered with Ng adhesion and invasion in 3D human vaginal/urethral mucosal models. Passive serum transfer did not recapitulate protection, implicating mucosal antibodies and cellular immunity over circulating IgG.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Oregon State University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "A. Chanda"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. A. Cadena"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Nazir"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Springgay"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. P. Rose"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Abraham"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Lin"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. A. Saleemi"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. N. Macintyre"
    },
    {
      "name": "V. R. DeFilippis"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "A. E. Sikora"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0twjzsc9fj8se.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.11.02.763630",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763630v1.full",
  "id": "0twjzsc9fj8se",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763630v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "microbiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763630v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0twjzsc9fj8se.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T12:21:00Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.11.02.763630",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763630v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mucosal ACP subunit vaccine formulated with a small molecule STING agonist drives protective TH1/TH17 responses and serum bactericidal antibodies against Neisseria gonorrhoeae",
  "title_text": "Mucosal ACP subunit vaccine formulated with a small molecule STING agonist drives protective TH1/TH17 responses and serum bactericidal antibodies against Neisseria gonorrhoeae",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T00:21:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0twjzsc9fj8se",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}