Identification of protective epitopes by sequencing of the major outer membrane protein gene of a variant strain of Chlamydia psittaci serotype 1 (Chlamydophila abortus).
Protective monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of species of the family Chlamydiaceae, which is the primary vaccine candidate antigen, recognize nonlinear epitopes conferred by the oligomeric conformation of the molecule. Protective MAbs failed to recognize oligomeric MOMP of the variant strain LLG, which bears amino acid substitutions in variable segments (VSs) 1, 2, and 4, and competed with monomer-specific MAbs mapping to these VSs in reference strain 577. The results suggest that multiple sites located in the three VSs contribute to the epitope of protective MAbs.
Vretou
E
E
Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens 115 21, Greece. evretou@netor.gr
Psarrou
E
E
Kaisar
M
M
Vlisidou
I
I
Salti-Montesanto
V
V
Longbottom
D
D
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002691:Chlamydophila psittaci / Q000276:immunology*; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018272:Porins / Q000276:immunology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D018272:Porins