Characterization of the major iron-regulated protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis.

The major iron-regulated protein (MIRP) was purified, from both Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis by selective extraction with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide followed by ion-exchange and moleculair-seive chromatography. Solutions of the purified proteins had a characteristic pink color. The overall amino acid composition of these proteins was similar, although differences were noted in the number of serine, threonine, and lysine residues. Nevertheless, the N-terminal amino acid sequence was identical through 47 residues for both the meningococcal and gonococcal MIRP. Plasma emission spectrophotometry revealed that the meningococcal 37K protein contained ca. 1 mole Fe/mole protein.