Neisseria meningitidis can cause severe and fulminant diseases such as meningitis. Meningococcal capsular polysaccharide (PS) is a key virulence determinant that is not able to induce immunological memory. Conjugation of PS to a carrier protein can significantly increase the immunogenicity of PS and induce immunological memory. Due to the classically described carrier-induced epitopic suppression (CIES) mechanisms, a strong immune response against the carrier protein could suppress the immune response to PS after coadministration of free carrier protein with the conjugate vaccine. However, it ...
