Monoclonal antibodies for serotyping the P fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against seven serologically different P fimbriae (F7(1), F7(2), F8, F9, F11, F12, and F13) of uropathogenic Escherichia coli were tested for their ability to detect the P fimbriae on wild-type strains. In a plate agglutination test the MABs could detect the fimbriae on strains which expressed cloned fimbriae but not on wild-type strains. In a coagglutination test and in a whole-bacterium enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay the MAbs recognized the fimbriae on strains with cloned fimbriae and on wild-type strains. However, the coagglutination test has some disadvantages: only immunoglobulin G MAbs can be used, and the results cannot be read in an objective way. From these results, we concluded that the whole-bacterium enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is the most convenient method for the determination of P fimbriae on wild-type E. coli strains. With this fast and easy method it is possible to do epidemiological studies on the distribution of P fimbriae among clinical isolates of uropathogenic E. coli and to extend the O:K:H serotype with the F serotype.