J Bacteriol Virol.  2003 Mar;33(1):39-50.

Production and Characterization of Genus-, Species-Specific Monoclonal Antibodies of Legionella

• Lee HK
• Park MS
• Park MY
• Min KH

Abstract

To use in the identification of Legionella pneumophila isolates, one Legionella genus-specific, an two L. pneumophila species-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced. Reactivities of the MAbs with Legionella species and non-Legionella strains were tested by immunoblot. MAb 7D8-F1, MAb 7D8-A9, and MAb 1G12-C11 reacted only with protein. MAb 7D8-F1 recognized a genus-specific epitope in the protein ranged from 28 to 34 kDa in the tested 40 species with 61 serogroups. MAb 7D8-A9 and MAb 1G12-C11 reacted strongly with 49 kDa and 70 kDa protein from 18 L. pneumophila serogroups but did not react with 39 non-L. pneumophila species, respectively. In addtion, 17 non-Legionella strains, including Coxiella burnetii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Pseudomonas areoginosa, Francisella tularensis, and Staphylococcus pneumoniae did not show cross-reacivities with the three MAbs. The MAbs reacted with 28 environmemtal isolates and three clinical isolates previously identified as L. pneumophila. When the immunoblot patterns were divided into four types (type I~IV) by using MAb 7D8-F1, all the 31 isolates belonged to the type II. These results indicate that the MAbs were highly specific to Legionella and can be used for the identification of L. pneumophila isolates on the genus and species levels.

Keyword

Legionella; Monoclonal antibody; Genus-; Species-specific; Immunoblot

MeSH Terms

Antibodies, Monoclonal*
Coxiella burnetii
Francisella tularensis
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Legionella pneumophila
Legionella*
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Pneumonia
Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
Pseudomonas
Staphylococcus
Antibodies, Monoclonal