REVIEW

The immunopathogenesis of meningococcal disease

A J Kvalsvig and D J Unsworth

Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr A J Kvalsvig, Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB, UK;
meningitisproject{at}hotmail.com

This review describes the mechanisms of the immune response to meningococcal disease, examining the extent to which individual variation of the immune response can determine susceptibility. It concludes by summarising the difficulties encountered by recent efforts to develop new immunomodulatory treatments.

Keywords: immune deficiency; meningococcal disease; pathogenesis; susceptibility

Abbreviations: BPI, bactericidal permeability inducing protein; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; IL, interleukin; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; MBL, mannose (or mannan) binding lectin; TLR, toll-like receptor; TNF, tumour necrosis factor

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