title: Recombinant single-chain variable fragment antibodies directed against Clostridium difficile toxin B produced by use of an optimized phage display system.
abstract: Recombinant antibody cloning and phage display technologies were used to produce single-chain antibodies (scFv) against Clostridium difficile toxin B. The starting material was the mouse B cell hybridoma line 5A8, which generates a monoclonal antibody against the toxin. The integrated cloning, screening, and phage display system of Krebber et al. (J. Immunol. Methods 201:35-55, 1997) allowed us to rapidly obtain toxin B-binding scFv sequences derived from the hybridoma cell line. The best candidate scFv sequences, based on preliminary enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screening data were then subcloned into the compatible expression vector. Recombinant single-chain antibodies were expressed in Escherichia coli. A 29-kDa band was observed on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as predicted. The expressed product was characterized by immunoblotting and detection with an anti-FLAG antibody. The toxin B-binding function of the single-chain antibody was shown by a sandwich ELISA. The antibody was highly specific for toxin B and did not cross-react with material isolated from a toxin B-negative C. difficile strain. The sensitivity of the soluble single-chain antibody is significantly higher than the original monoclonal antibody based on ELISA data and could detect a minimum of 10 ng of toxin B/well. Competitive ELISAs established that the affinity of the 5A8 parent antibody and the best representative (clone 10) of the single-chain antibodies were similar and in the range of 10(-8) M. We propose that recombinant antibody technology is a rapid and effective approach to the development of the next generation of immunodiagnostic reagents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas 79430, USA.
authors.forename: Xiao K
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Lance A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Nesbit
authors.forename: K John
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Morrow
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000276:immunology*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000276:immunology*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007128:Immunoglobulin Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D019151:Peptide Library; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D007128:Immunoglobulin Fragments; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D019151:Peptide Library; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C031815:toxB protein, Clostridium difficile