# FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF MAJOR GONOCOCCAL SURFACE PROTEINS

> **NIH NIH R01** · ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY · 1992 · $208,571

## Abstract

Gonorrheal disease affects over 2 million people per year in the
U.S.  Controlling this epidemic disease at present is a major
problem even though treatment with antibiotics is available and
effective.  Currently no vaccine has been found to be protective
against a wide spectrum of gonococci.  However, before a good
vaccinee can be produced, the biopathological function of each
component of this vaccine should be understood.  In this manner,
eliciting human antibodies which may be potentially advantageous
for the gonococcus and not for the human host such as
antigonococcal protein III antibodies can be avoided.  By knowing
which components of the gonococcus is vital for its survival, we
can more readily design vaccines to eliminate these functional
mechanisms.  The basic aims of this proposal is to understand the
basic biopathological function of several gonococcal surface
proteins i.e. protein I, protein II and protein III.

One of the functions of protein III is to elicit human antibodies
which protect the gonococcus against the bacteriocidal effects of
other antibodies.  We will determine how this protein is inserted
into the outer membrane and what other roles this protein has
which are vital for the organism.  We will determine what if any
is the functional interaction between protein III and protein I.

We will continue our study into both the biological and
pathological role of protein I.  We will determine which portions
of this molecule are important for the various functional
characteristics that protein I has.  The further study of protein
is valuable not only for understanding gonococcal diseases but
has become a good reagent for studying the importance of membrane
channels in eukaryotic cells.

Aggregation of gonococci in clumps of bacteria seems to be
important in urethral infections in males and at certain periods
of gonococcal infections in females.  The so called opacity
protein(s) are an important part of this aggregation.  We will
continue to examine the exact ligand-receptor relationship this
protein has with lipooligosaccharides and other components of the
gonococcal out membrane.  We will also determine if similar
ligands exist on human cells.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3128074
- **Project number:** 5R01AI018637-10
- **Recipient organization:** ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** LHGDNJMZ64Y1
- **Principal Investigator:** Milan S. Blake
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $208,571
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1982-01-01 → 1994-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3128074

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3128074, FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF MAJOR GONOCOCCAL SURFACE PROTEINS (5R01AI018637-10). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3128074. Licensed CC0.

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