Monoclonal antibodies to immunodominant surface-exposed protein antigens of Treponema pallidum.

Specific murine monoclonal antibodies directed against immunodominant surface-exposed protein antigens of Treponema pallidum with molecular weights of 15,500, 33,000, 44,000, and 46,000 were isolated. Of seventeen monoclonal antibodies characterized by Western blotting, three were directed against 15,500, three against 33,000, nine against 44,000, and two against 46,000 molecular weight protein antigens of Treponema pallidum. Three of the monoclonal antibodies were reactive in the haemagglutination assay, 11 in the in vitro immobilization assay, and 13 in the immunofluorescence assay. It is suggested that the different monoclonal antibodies could be useful in isolating immunodominant protein antigens of Treponema pallidum and in obtaining information on their biological relevance for use in the diagnosis of syphilis.