Tritrichomonas foetus: preparation of monoclonal antibodies with effector function.

Monoclonal antibodies were prepared against Tritrichomonas foetus and characterized with regard to binding and immune effector activities. Nine of 27 monoclonal antibodies which reacted with T. foetus appeared to bind to the surface of live parasites. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed the surface binding of two of these. At least six of these surface reactive monoclonal antibodies facilitated complement mediated lysis of T. foetus and one acted as an opsonin for phagocytosis by peripheral blood bovine monocytes. Five surface reactive monoclonal antibodies identified a molecule of approximately 150,000 relative molecular weight on Western blots of whole parasite preparations. These results collectively suggest the 150,000 relative molecular weight molecule may be an important target antigen for the immune response to T. foetus.