Development of IgY-Based Sandwich ELISA as a Robust Tool for Rapid Detection and Discrimination of Toxigenic .

BACKGROUND

The conventional methods for diagnosis of are time consuming, complicated, and expensive. Development of rapid detection tests is critical for prevention and management of cholera. This study aimed to introduce two sensitive sandwich ELISAs based on avian antibodies (IgY) targeting outer membrane protein W (OmpW) and cytotoxin B (CtxB) antigens of .

METHODS

The sequences of and genes were cloned into pET28a vector. BL21 (DE3) was transformed with the recombinant vectors, and gene expression was induced by IPTG. The expressed proteins were purified by affinity chromatography using Ni-NTA resins. Two groups of white Leghorn chickens were immunized by recombinant proteins, and the generated antibodies were purified from egg yolks of chickens by PEG precipitation. The antibodies were used for the development of -OmpW and -CtxB ELISAs.

RESULTS

The expression and purification yielded 59 and 38 mg of recombinant OmpW and CtxB, respectively, per one liter of bacterial culture. PEG precipitation and purification of egg yolk antibodies yielded on average (±SD) 66.5 ± 1.80 and 50.9 ± 2.23 mg of purified -OmpW and -CtxB per egg, respectively. The analytical sensitivity of -OmpW ELISA was 103 cfu/mL of and that of -CtxB ELISA was 33 pg/mL of recombinant cytotoxin B. The two developed ELISAs did not show any cross-reactivity to any tested bacteria grown in common conditions.

DISCUSSION

The current study is the first report on using IgY for detection of . The developed ELISAs were shown to have considerable analytical sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, the assays can be one of the convenient methods for sensitive and specific detection of toxigenic strains in clinical and environmental samples.