Immunological comparison of constitutive beta-lactamases of gram-negative bacteria by neutralization in zymogram gels: properties of anti-TEM-1 and anti-TEM-2 sera.

The zymogram technique was applied to a beta-lactamase neutralization assay with anti-TEM-1 and anti-TEM-2 sera. Both were shown to contain neutralizing antibodies directed towards various beta-lactamases of Gram-negative bacteria. The quantitative neutralization allowed classification into five groups of the 28 beta-lactamases used as standards and 61 from clinical isolates. In the first were enzymes such as TEM-1 and TEM-2 including TLE-1, SHV-1, SHV-2, penicillinases of Klebsiella pneumoniae and CTX-1. Partial neutralization distinguished two groups containing the CARB group of enzymes, which are different from PSE-2 and PSE-3, and the MAL penicillinases of Levinea malonatica, which are different from L. amalonatica enzymes. Broad spectrum beta-lactamases of K. oxytoca constituted a unique group of partially neutralized enzymes. Among the beta-lactamases not neutralized by either serum were the plasmid-mediated OXA-enzymes, various species-specific beta-lactamases and cephalosporinases. The antigenic similarities of the enzymes appeared to correlate with the extent of similarities of their catalytic properties, namely those of penicillinases. Such comparisons between the beta-lactamase groups provide an indirect approach to the physiological and structural analysis of established and recently evolved beta-lactamases.