Purification and antigenic analysis of flagella of Campylobacter jejuni.

The flagella of Campylobacter jejuni strain FUM158432 were purified and a flagellin preparation consisting of only a single peptide of 63,000 daltons was obtained. The peptide of 92,000 daltons usually associated with a flagellar preparation was shown to be a peptide derived from the hook region. Antiserum was prepared by immunizing a rabbit with the flagellin preparation. The reaction of the antiserum was found to be highly specific for the flagellar filament by immunoelectron microscopy and for flagellin peptide by the immunoblotting method. Seventeen of 23 clinically isolated strains of C. jejuni reacted with this antiserum but the other six strains did not, indicating the existence of antigenic variation of the flagella of C. jejuni. The flagella of a few strains of C. coli also reacted with this antiserum.