Monoclonal antibodies against spore antigens of Bacillus anthracis |
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Authors: | AP Phillips Ailsa M Campbell Rosalind Quinn |
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Institution: | Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, U.K.;Department of Biochemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K. |
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Abstract: | Abstract A murine monoclonal antibody produced against heat inactivated spores of Bacillus anthracis Ames, reacted with live or inactivated spores of several anthrax strains in indirect immunofluorescence (IF) tests. The reactive anthrax strain gave only a moderate degree of reaction. No staining of anthrax vegetative cells was observed. The monoclonal did not react with spores of non-anthrax Bacillus strains that gave cross reactions with mouse hyperimmune antiserum raised against Ames spores. The staining of individual spores in B. anthracis preparations was more heterogeneous with the monoclonal antibody than with the hyperimmune serum. Evidence is produced that the epitope for this monoclonal is not stable during long-term storage of inactivated spore preparations, and is not fully available for reaction with antibody until late in spore maturation. The monoclonal did not react by immunoblotting (Western blotting) of spore extracts. |
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Keywords: | Bacillus anthracis Spore Monoclonal antibody Immunofluorescence |
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