Inhibitors Based on Fusion, Hr1 and Hr2 Sequences in Bacterial Adhesin

摘要

A known surface adhesin (NadA) in Neisseria meningitidis contains sequences which correspond to the fusion peptide, HR1 repeat and HR2 repeat seen in the envelope protein of viruses. Fusion inhibitors may thus be used to inhibit meningococcal infection, and the invention provides a compound that can bind to the heptad repeat sequence(s) HR1 and/or HR2 of the NadA adhesin on the surface of a meningococcus, thereby inhibiting the ability of the meningococcus either to infect a host organism or to spread an existing infection.