title: Serum antibodies to Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 in patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome.
abstract: Sera from 13 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and 8 healthy control subjects were examined for antibodies specific for bacterial antigens of Eschericia coli serotype O157:H7. Bacterial components, including outer membrane proteins (OMPs), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and flagella, were reacted with sera by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All 13 serum samples from HUS patients contained high-titered antibodies of the immunoglobulin M class against O157 LPS and some OMPs. These same sera reacted weakly with some of the major OMPs, but not the LPS, of non-O157 strains of E. coli. Sera from patients did not contain antibodies to non-O157 LPS or H7 flagella. The possibility of using E. coli serotype O157 LPS in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the routine diagnostic testing of sera from HUS patients for evidence of O157:H7 infection is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chart
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Scotland
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rowe
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003092:Colitis / Q000209:etiology; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology*; D006463:Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides