In the electronic edition of "Nature Immunology", the authors explain that the aforementioned bacteria does not trigger a powerful production of antibodies and that the immune system lacks what is known as immune memory against it, which means that the same person can become infected. repeatedly even from the same strain.
But it now appears that N. gonorrhoeae depends on a protein called Opa52 to suppress the immune response. This protein binds to human cells – to a receptor called CEACAM1 on T lymphocytes – so that the bacteria goes unnoticed by the lymphocytes that must fight it.
The finding may have implications for the treatment of gonorrhea and other diseases, since some pathogens that cause meningitis also bind to the CEACAM1 receptor.
