A candidate gonococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine which induces persistent immunity in three genetically distinct species of mouse and is similarly immunogenic when formulated with and without aluminium adjuvant
- 1Nuffield Department of Medicine, Jenner Institute, University of Oxford , ,
- 2School of Biosciences, University of Surrey , ,
Abstract
Background: The escalating global incidence of multidrug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae necessitates an effective vaccine. While the meningococcal 4CMenB vaccine offers some cross-protection against gonorrhoea, this protection is limited highlighting the need for a targeted gonococcal vaccine. In this study, we evaluate the durability of immune response and characterise the immunogenicity induced by GonoVac, a native Outer Membrane Vesicle (nOMV) vaccine produced from N. gonorrhoeae GC_0817560 lpxL1 ⁻ , across genetically distinct strains of mouse.
Methods: We evaluated the longevity of the immune response induced by two and three doses of GonoVac formulated with aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH) ₃ ) over a one-year period (49 weeks for C57BL/6 and CD1 mice, 33 weeks for BALB/c mice), compared to the meningococcal group B vaccine, 4CMenB. Identical immunisation schedules were followed in BALB/c, C57BL/6, and CD1 mice. Separately, we examined the impact of Al(OH) ₃ on GonoVac immunogenicity in all three mouse strains. Serological, mucosal, and cellular responses were assessed using ELISA, serum bactericidal assays (SBA) and ELISpot.
Results: GonoVac with Al(OH) ₃ induced robust, long-lasting anti-gonococcal IgG responses in all three strains of mice and significantly higher levels of antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of gonococci in C57BL/6 and CD1 mice compared with 4CMenB. Immune responses were maintained for up to one year. Serum anti-gonococcal IgG subclass distributions varied across mouse strains and between GonoVac and 4CMenB in the same strain of mouse. GonoVac formulated with and without Al(OH) ₃ elicited high levels of antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of N. gonorrhoeae irrespective of mouse strain. While mucosal IgG responses were robust with both GonoVac formulations, Al(OH) ₃ significantly enhancing cellular immunity in BALB/c and CD1 mice compared with C57BL/6 mice.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that GonoVac, a preclinical candidate gonococcal nOMV vaccine, induces durable and functional anti-gonococcal immune responses that are higher than 4CMenB, across three commonly used laboratory strains of mice.
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BibTeX
@article{onofrio2026candidate,
title = {{A candidate gonococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine which induces persistent immunity in three genetically distinct species of mouse and is similarly immunogenic when formulated with and without aluminium adjuvant}},
author = {Ilaria Onofrio and Thomas Belcher and Molly E. Quinn and Emma Lupoli and Tyler Freslov and Natasha Owen and Senuri N. Dissanayake and Lukasz A. Grudzein and Paula Freixeiro and Christine S. Rollier and Calman A. MacLennan},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1923399},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13672624},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A candidate gonococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine which induces persistent immunity in three genetically distinct species of mouse and is similarly immunogenic when formulated with and without aluminium adjuvant
AU - Ilaria Onofrio
AU - Thomas Belcher
AU - Molly E. Quinn
AU - Emma Lupoli
AU - Tyler Freslov
AU - Natasha Owen
AU - Senuri N. Dissanayake
AU - Lukasz A. Grudzein
AU - Paula Freixeiro
AU - Christine S. Rollier
AU - Calman A. MacLennan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/02
JO - Frontiers in immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1923399
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13672624
AB - Background: The escalating global incidence of multidrug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae necessitates an effective vaccine. While the meningococcal 4CMenB vaccine offers some cross-protection against gonorrhoea, this protection is limited highlighting the need for a targeted gonococcal vaccine. In this study, we evaluate the durability of immune response and characterise the immunogenicity induced by GonoVac, a native Outer Membrane Vesicle (nOMV) vaccine produced from N. gonorrhoeae GC_0817560 lpxL1 ⁻ , across genetically distinct strains of mouse. Methods: We evaluated the longevity of the immune response induced by two and three doses of GonoVac formulated with aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH) ₃ ) over a one-year period (49 weeks for C57BL/6 and CD1 mice, 33 weeks for BALB/c mice), compared to the meningococcal group B vaccine, 4CMenB. Identical immunisation schedules were followed in BALB/c, C57BL/6, and CD1 mice. Separately, we examined the impact of Al(OH) ₃ on GonoVac immunogenicity in all three mouse strains. Serological, mucosal, and cellular responses were assessed using ELISA, serum bactericidal assays (SBA) and ELISpot. Results: GonoVac with Al(OH) ₃ induced robust, long-lasting anti-gonococcal IgG responses in all three strains of mice and significantly higher levels of antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of gonococci in C57BL/6 and CD1 mice compared with 4CMenB. Immune responses were maintained for up to one year. Serum anti-gonococcal IgG subclass distributions varied across mouse strains and between GonoVac and 4CMenB in the same strain of mouse. GonoVac formulated with and without Al(OH) ₃ elicited high levels of antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of N. gonorrhoeae irrespective of mouse strain. While mucosal IgG responses were robust with both GonoVac formulations, Al(OH) ₃ significantly enhancing cellular immunity in BALB/c and CD1 mice compared with C57BL/6 mice. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that GonoVac, a preclinical candidate gonococcal nOMV vaccine, induces durable and functional anti-gonococcal immune responses that are higher than 4CMenB, across three commonly used laboratory strains of mice.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -