Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib) Antibodies, Proteins & ELISA Kits

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is an encapsulated gram-negative coccobacillus bacteria belonging to the Pasteurellaceae family. H. influenzae is split into 6 serotypes a, b, c, d, e, and f, whereby type b is the most infectious and it is well known for causing Hib disease.

Hib is transmitted through airborne droplets when people cough or sneeze and it primarily affects children and immunocompromised individuals. The main symptoms of Hib are a stiff neck, headaches, pneumonia, cellulitis, septicaemia, meningitis, epiglottitis and septic arthritis.

In the past, Hib was the main cause of bacterial meningitis in children. However, due to extensive vaccination programmes using Hib conjugate vaccines which are made of type b capsular polysaccharide conjugated to a carrier protein, there have been a decrease in Hib infections. This illustrates the importance of vaccine research and development.

It is important to know what host receptors and signalling pathways are involved in mounting an immune response during Hib infections in order to enhance vaccine development. Studies have shown that toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)/MyD88 pathways are used for Hib porin-mediated production of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

As well as this, Hib has an O-deacylated lipooligosaccharide (LOS) similar to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LOS has a core region that is covalently linked to lipid A, which is a ligand for TLR4 mediated immune responses.

Hib has a polyribosyl ribitol phosphate (PRP) capsule, which is a virulence factor that protects the bacteria against complement attack. As well as this, Hib binds to Factor H (FH) and FHL-1, which are proteins that regulate complement pathways. This allows Hib to reduce complement bactericidal activity and enhance survival.

A key area of research is the immune response against H. influenzae type b. It has been shown that LOS stimulates the expression of TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and ICAM-1. Assay Genie provides a wide range of recombinant proteins, antibodies, ELISA kits, ELISpot and multiplex kits which will aid in researching the immune response during Hib infections.

Studies have shown that Hib primarily uses glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway for the catabolism of glucose for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. In normal individuals' lungs, there are limited glucose levels, whereas, in the lungs of individuals suffering from Hib, there is a glucose rich environment that allows the pathogen to grow.

Immunometabolism is an important area of science which encompasses regions of metabolism and immunology. Many of the functional capacities of immune cells are dependent on the metabolic state of the cell and its capability to mount an immune response. At present there is very little research covering how immune cell metabolism is affected by Hib disease, meaning it represents a potential research area for future investigations. Assay Genie provides a wide range of immunometabolism assays such as glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, the citric acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) assays kits.

Animal models are useful research tools which are often used in early stages of therapeutic product development and pathogenesis studies. While humans are the primary hosts of Hib, animals can be used to study the mechanisms of Hib disease for vaccine research. For example, mice and rats are animal models which have been used to assess the protective efficacy of Hib conjugate vaccines.