Purification, cyanogen bromide cleavage, and amino terminus sequencing of class 1 and class 3 outer membrane proteins of meningococci

Abstract

Meningococcal class 1 and 3 outer membrane proteins (OMPs) were subjected to cyanogen bromide treatment. The class 3 OMP was found to be resistant to cyanogen bromide, while the class 1 OMP was cut into two main fragments of 25 and 17 kilodaltons. The N-terminal sequences were determined for class 1 and class 3 proteins, which exhibit similarities to one another and to OMP I of gonococci. The C-terminal class 1 OMP fragment bound the bactericidal monoclonal antibodies tested.