Characterization of monoclonal antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa type A flagellar antigen.

ABSTRACT

Flagellar murine MAbs (53B and 29) to strain a-type 170018 (a0,a3,a4, 45 kDa) and a human a-type MAb were studied in ELISA, Immunoblot, colony blot, agglutination and motility assays to evaluate the degree of cross-reactivity within the dominant a0 epitope. No specific effect of possible subtypes (a1, a2, a3, a4) was observed. An association of cross-reactivity and molecular weight was observed for 53B. A broader cross-reactivity as seen with MAbs 29 and A522 including high molecular weight flagellins (49-52 kDa), and particularly in the motility assay, may predict protective potential. Moderate reactivity with strain 5939 (a0 a3) was only seen with A522 MAb. These data indicate the presence of several cross-reactive sites associated with the common a0 antigen.