Generation and characterization of a monoclonal antibody specific for the major thiol-activated cysteine proteinase of Porphyromonas gingivalis W83.
An IgM monoclonal antibody specified for the thiol-activated proteinase of the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis W83 was generated. The antibody reacted with a single protein of approximate molecular mass 43 kDa in outer membrane preparations of P. gingivalis. Immuno-electron microscopy using the monoclonal antibody and immunogold labelling confirmed the cell surface location of the thiol-activated proteinase. The monoclonal antibody failed to detect any proteins in Western blot analysis of other closely related oral bacteria. The specificity of this monoclonal antibody to the thiol-activated proteinase of P. gingivalis should allow its use as a diagnostic tool for the rapid enumeration of P. gingivalis in clinical samples.
Department of Microbiology, University of Leicester, UK.
A
A
Wallace
G
G
Rigg
S C
SC
Hyman
R
R
James
I S
IS
Roberts
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases