Identification of Vibrio vulnificus O serovars with antilipopolysaccharide monoclonal antibody.

A serotyping scheme for Vibrio vulnificus predicated on the detection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens is proposed. The serovar O typing scheme used to type V. vulnificus employs polyclonal antisera raised in rabbits immunized with heat-killed whole-cell vaccines. Polyclonal typing sera produced in this manner cross-react with heterologous strains. Affinity purification of polyclonal antisera with LPS affinity columns resolved some of these cross-reactions; however, affinity-purified polyclonal antisera still showed cross-reactions that were nonreciprocal. On the basis of the serological patterns that were obtained with affinity-purified polyclonal antisera, V. vulnificus strains were selected as vaccine strains for production of monoclonal antibody. Spleen cells harvested from BALB/c mice immunized with formalin-killed V. vulnificus cells were fused with SP2/O-Ag 14 myeloma cells. Hybridomas were screened by using LPS and whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to identify clones secreting LPS-specific antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies identified five LPS serological varieties of V. vulnificus and a single serovar each for Vibrio damsela and Vibrio hollisae. No cross-reactions between V. vulnificus and V. hollisae or V. damsela were observed.