Patent ID: 8383790

Claim:
An isolated nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding an isolated protein comprising: (A) one or more conserved regions of an NhhA polypeptide, the one or more conserved regions respectively consisting of any of the following amino acid sequences selected from the group consisting of: (i) residues 1 to 50 of SEQ ID NO:11; (ii) residues 109 to 120 of SEQ ID NO:11; (iii) residues 135 to 198 of SEQ ID NO:11; (iv) residues 221 to 239 of SEQ ID NO:11; and (v) residues 249 to 604 of SEQ ID NO:11; and (B) one or more variable regions of an NhhA polypeptide, the one or more variable regions respectively consisting of any of the following amino acid sequences selected from the group consisting of: (a) residues 121 to 134 of SEQ ID NO:11; (b) residues 199 to 220 of SEQ ID NO:11; and (c) residues 240 to 248 of SEQ ID NO:11; wherein a variable region consisting of residues 51-108 of SEQ ID NO:11, or a fragment consisting of at least 6 amino acids thereof is absent; and wherein the isolated protein is capable of eliciting an immune response against a plurality of strains of N. meningitidis.