Monoclonal antibodies as probes to examine serotype-specific and cross-reactive epitopes of lipopolysaccharides from serotypes O2, O5, and O16 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Serotypes O2, O5, and O16 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are chemically related, and the O antigens of their lipopolysaccharides share a similar trisaccharide repeat backbone structure. Serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) MF71-3, MF15-4, and MF47-4 against the O2, O5, and O16 serotypes, respectively, were isolated. MAb 18-19, which is cross-reactive with all strains of this chemically related serogroup, was also produced. When column chromatography or sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) samples from each of the serotypes were probed with the MAbs in Western immunoblots, each of the serotype-specific MAbs interacted only with high-molecular-weight bands of the homologous LPS, with a minimum O-antigen chain length of at least 6 to 10 repeats. In contrast, cross-reactive MAb 18-19 was shown to interact in Western immunoblots with the entire LPS banding pattern except the fastest-running band, which lacks O antigen. Chemical modification of P. aeruginosa LPS by alkali treatment and carboxyl reduction abolished reactions between LPS and MAb 18-19, while reactions of modified LPS with serotype-specific MAbs were not affected. Therefore, cross-reactive MAb 18-19 likely recognizes the chemical backbone structure of the O repeat that is common to all three serotypes of the O2-O5-O16 group, while the O-specific MAbs appeared to recognize LPS epitopes that could be presented when 6 to 10 or more O-antigen repeat units are present on the LPS molecule. Thus, the O-specific LPS epitopes likely involve unique chemical structures, glycosidic linkages, and some order of folding of the O side chains.
Department of Microbiology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
J S
JS
Lam
M Y
MY
Handelsman
T R
TR
Chivers
L A
LA
MacDonald
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019081:O Antigens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D012703:Serotyping
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019081:O Antigens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial