Influence of anti-FloR antibody on florfenicol accumulation in florfenicol-resistant Escherichia coli and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of florfenicol-resistant E. coli isolates.

To detect florfenicol-resistant Escherichia coli isolates by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), anti-FloR1 antibodies were produced in mice using a recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST)-FloR1 protein, which was expressed in a prokaryote expression system, as the antigen. The specificity of the murine anti-GST-FloR1 antibody and its influence on florfenicol accumulation in florfenicol-resistant isolates were investigated using Western blotting and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Western blotting using the anti-FloR1 antibody showed specific binding of the antibody to the florfenicol-resistant FloR protein. Preincubation of florfenicol-resistant strains with the antibody significantly increased the intracellular accumulation of florfenicol and enhanced the bacterial susceptibility to florfenicol, suggesting that antibody binding to the FloR protein inhibited the activity of the efflux protein conferred by the floR gene. Analyses of florfenicol-resistant and -sensitive isolates by ELISA using the anti-FloR1 antibody showed good correlation between FloR protein expression and the floR genotype. The anti-FloR1 antibody-based ELISA is a useful tool for the detection of florfenicol-resistant bacteria harboring the floR gene.