The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 13, Issue 4 513-526, Copyright © 1980 by Society for General Microbiology
Detection of leptospiral antibodies in animal sera by means of fractionated antigenic extracts
N. C. Fathalla and J. D. Coghlan
Sodium dodecyl sulphate extracts of the reference strains Mus 127,
Castellon 3 and Arborea of the Ballum agglutinogenic serogroup of
Leptospira interrogans (the species of pathogenic leptospira), of strain
Patoc 1 of the saprophytic species of L. biflexa, and of strain 3055 of
illini serotype, the sole representative of L. illini, were each
fractionated by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose density gradient into 10
fractions. The fractions were tested by complement fixation and
immunodiffusion against the sera of animals during the process of
immunisation and during the course of naturally occurring infections. The
fractions could be divided into three main pools of serological activity:
pool I (fractions 1, 2 and 3), pool II (fractions 4, 5 and 6), pool III
(fractions 7, 8 and 9). Pool I was species/genus specific; fraction 1
tended to be species specific while fraction 2 reacted with antisera to all
strains whether pathogenic or saprophytic. Pool II was serogroup specific
and reacted only with antisera to members of the same serogroup. Pool III
was serotype (serovar) specific and revealed the identity of the infecting
strain at an early stage of infection.
