Characterisation and application of a murine monoclonal antibody specific for the serogroup C2 Salmonella

Detection and serogroup differentiation of Salmonella spp. in food within 30 hours by enrichment-immunoassay with a T6 monoclonal antibody capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

We previously described an antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay which makes use of monoclonal antibody T6, which recognizes an epitope on the outer core polysaccharide of Salmonella lipopolysaccharide molecules that is common to almost all Salmonella serovars. In this paper, we show that this assay can detect between 10(5) and 10(7) Salmonella cells per ml even in the presence of excess Escherichia coli. A total of 153 of 154 (99%) serogroup A to E strains and 51 of 78 (71%) serogroup F to 67 strains were reactive as determined by this assay. This corresponds to a detection rate of approximately 98% of all salmonellae known to affect humans. None of the 65 strains of non-Salmonella bacteria tested positive. Taking advantage of the O-factor polysaccharides also present on the antigen captured by the immobilized T6 antibody, we showed that 136 of 154 Salmonella serogroup A to E strains (88%) were correctly differentiated according to their serogroups by use of enzyme conjugates of a panel of O-factor-specific monoclonal antibodies. We evaluated this assay for the detection and serogroup differentiation of salmonellae directly from enrichment cultures of simulated food, eggs, pork, and infant formula milk. All 26 samples which had been contaminated with Salmonella spp. were detected by T6 (100% sensitivity), with only one false-positive result from 101 samples not contaminated by Salmonella spp. (99% specificity). The detection time was substantially reduced to between 17 and 29 h, depending on the enrichment methods used. Since there were no false-negative results, we concluded that this enrichment-immunoassay method can afford rapid screening for Salmonella spp. in food samples.

Salmonella serogroups C2 and C3 identified by agglutination using an immunoglobulin G3(kappa) monoclonal antibody (32-1-E3) reactive with a somatic factor 8-like polysaccharide antigen

An immunoglobulin G3(kappa) monoclonal antibody (MAb), MAb 32-1-E3, which was prepared in BALB/c mice by using a heated, alcohol-acetone-extracted Salmonella newport CDC 50 antigen, reacted with protein-free lipopolysaccharides from Salmonella groups C2 (O:6,8) and C3 (O:-,8) but not with those from any other serogroup tested. Sodium periodate did not inhibit antigen reactivity, which was consistent with its identity as the abequose-containing disaccharide O:8 antigen. Reactivity was inhibited by competition with serogroup C2 (O:6,8) and C3 (O:-,8) antigens but not with non-O:8 antigens. Reactivity was also inhibited by preincubation of the antigen with polyclonal rabbit antiserogroup C2 or C3 antibodies but not with antisera to serogroup C1 or other Salmonella serogroups. The MAb agglutinated with all strains of Salmonella serogroups C2 and C3 tested but not with other bacteria. Agglutination was inhibited by preabsorbing the MAb with either of two serogroup C3 Salmonella strains, S. virginia CDC 189 or S. haardt MDL 83A4545, which contain only O:8, but not by preabsortion with O:8-negative S. cholerasuis MDL 81A7623 (group C1; O:6,7), S. paratyphi type B CDC 157 (group B; O:1,[4],5,12), or Escherichia coli (O:157) (which contains no Salmonella serogroup antigens). The MAb reacted strongly (4+ agglutination) with all 140 wild-type strains of group C2 and C3 Salmonella spp. tested and showed no reaction with any of 1,324 wild-type strains of non-C2 or non-C3 Salmonella spp. tested. The MAb is useful as a replacement for absorbed, polyclonal, single-factor O:8 antiserum to discriminate Salmonella serogroups C2 and C3 from serogroup C1.

Characterization and specificity controls of murine monoclonal antibodies against serogroup C1 Salmonella

Two IgG3 murine monoclonal antibodies, Cl-1 and Cl-2, that showed serologic specificities for the O antigens of serogroup C1 (0:6,7) Salmonella were established. The epitopes for the antibodies were found to reside on the repeating units of the serogroup C1 Salmonella lipopolysaccharide and were labile to sodium metaperiodate oxidation. Serologic reactivities of Cl-1 and Cl-2 were not inhibited by commercial monospecific antiserum to O antigen 7, but were inhibited to various degrees by anti-[O:6,7] serum. Both antibodies reacted strongly with all strains of serogroup C1 Salmonella that have either O:6(1),7, O:6(2),7, or O:6(1,2),7 antigens. Reactivities of Cl-1 and Cl-2 with the phage-14 lysogenized C1 strains that bear the phage-modified O antigen (O:6,7----O:6,7,14) were detected by slide agglutination method only and not by whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both Cl-1 and Cl-2 antibodies did not react with other O serogroups of salmonellae, nor with other Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria. The diagnostic value of these monoclonal antibodies together with a previously described monoclonal antibody against the serogroup C2 Salmonella was demonstrated using the slide agglutination method with monoclonal antibodies ascitic fluids.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Salmonella (O:6,7) by immunomagnetic monoclonal antibody-based assays

An immunomagnetic technique to detect and identify Salmonella serogroup C1 has been developed. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for the O antigen 6,7 of Salmonella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) coupled to magnetic beads were used to isolate the salmonellae. Captured bacteria were easily identified by acridine orange staining and measured by enzyme immunoassays with a conjugate anti-LPS MAb as the detector probe. The whole detection process required 2-3 h and the sensitivity was 10(3)-10(4) bacteria/ml. The presence of blood (10%, v/v) or stool (1%, w/v) components did not interfere with the immunomagnetic assay performance.

Production and epitope analysis of monoclonal antibodies against a Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii strain

Heat-treated cells of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii strain 162X95 were used to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The fusion produced three cross-reactive MAbs and eight MAbs specific for the immunizing strain and a group of five other R. trifolii strains from the same geographic region where 162X95 was isolated (California). Seven MAbs were analyzed by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine the number of different epitopes detectable on strain 162X95. The results indicated that six MAbs reacted with the same or overlapping epitopes, and the seventh MAb gave inconclusive results.