Ability of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, and commensal Neisseria species to obtain iron from lactoferrin

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Abstract
The ability of 107 Neisseria isolates to compete for Fe with human lactoferrin (LF) was examined. Each of 15 meningococci, 53% of 59 selected gonococci and 24% of 33 commensal Neisseria could use LF-bound Fe for growth. Isolates which could not obtain Fe from LF were growth inhibited when sufficient LF was added to defined agar medium to bind available free Fe. No difference was observed in the ability of colony type 1 and colony type 4 gonococci of the same strain to compete with LF for Fe. LF was growth inhibitory for 50% of 22 disseminated disease isolates (DGI strains) and 51% of 35 local urogenital disease isolates (UGI strains). Only 14% of gonococcal isolates requiring arginine, hypoxanthine and uracil for growth were able to compete with LF for Fe, whereas 87% of all other gonococcal isolates could do so (P < 0.005). Ability to obtain Fe from LF does not appear to be required for survival of Neisseria on mucosal surfaces, nor essential for invasion of the bloodstream by gonococci. Ability to utilize LF as a source of Fe may contribute to differences in pathogenicity among certain gonococcal isolates.