A maltose-negative variant of Neisseria meningitidis, Slaterus Y, was recovered from a patient with meningitis. A report of the case is presented and the medical-legal significance of such an isolate is briefly discussed.

Extracts from Neisseria meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae with varying susceptibility to sulfanilamide have been investigated for dihydropteroate synthetase activity. Sulfanilamide was a competitive inhibitor of dihydropteroate synthetase with respect to p-aminobenzoate in extracts from both species. Though the K(m) for p-aminobenzoate was unaffected, the K(i) for sulfanilamide increased and the ...

A major feature of Neisseria meningitidis is its ability to invade human brain meninges. To access the meninges, the bacteria must cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which is one of the tightest barriers in the body. Therefore, N. meningitidis must have evolved some type of sophisticated means to bypass the physical properties of this cellular barrier. As N. meningitidis is encapsulated when ...