Methods for Manipulation of Transferrin-Binding Proteins

To obtain iron, a necessary nutrient, meningococci and several other human and veterinary pathogens have iron-acquisition systems, which are expressed in vivo during infection. One target of iron-acquisition systems is transferrin (Tf), which is the major glycoprotein responsible for the transport of iron in the extracellular milieu of vertebrates. Tf-binding proteins A and B (TbpA and TbpB) function as the cell-surface Tf receptor in Neisseria meningitidis (1 ).