Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against putative colonization factors of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and their use in an epidemiological study.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against five putative colonization factors (PCFs), i.e., colonization factor antigen (CFA)/III, coli surface antigen (CS)7 and CS17, PCFO159, and PCFO166 of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), were produced. Hybridomas (one each) producing specific antibodies against the respective PCFs were selected. All the MAbs reacted with the corresponding fimbriae but not with CFA/I, CFA/II, or CFA/IV or the heterologous PCFs in bacterial agglutination and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). In immunoelectron microscopy these MAbs bound along the fimbriae, and they also reacted with the corresponding subunits in immunoblots. The five MAbs were used to evaluate the prevalence of CFA/III, CS7, CS17, PCFO159, and PCFO166 in ETEC strains isolated from children with diarrhea in Argentina. One hundred five ETEC isolates negative for CFA/I, CFA/II, and CFA/IV were tested in slide agglutination or in a dot blot test for spontaneously agglutinating strains; positive results were confirmed by inhibition ELISAs. It was found that 27% of the CFA-negative ETEC strains carried one of the PCFs. The sensitivity of slide agglutination with these MAbs was similar to that with specific polyclonal antisera; however, the specificity was higher. PCFO166 was found in 9.5% of the strains tested, mainly in ETEC of serogroup O78 producing heat-stable toxin alone. CS17 and CS7 were identified in 6.7 and 5.7%, respectively, of strains producing heat-labile toxin only, most of which belonged to serogroup O114. PCFO159 was found in 3.8% of the isolates tested, whereas CFA/III was detected in only one ETEC strain.