The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 25, Issue 2 129-138, Copyright © 1988 by Society for General Microbiology
Antigens involved in resistance to mucosal association by Vibrio cholerae
R. Narendranathan, L. H. Lutze, G. D. Jackson and G. N. Cooper
School of Microbiology, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia.
Resistance to growth of Vibrio cholerae at the mucosa of blind intestinal
loops developed in rats after intestinal or parenteral exposure to live
organisms or other antigenic materials. Simultaneous serological studies
suggested that neither serum vibriocidal activity nor intestinal mucus
antibodies are likely to provide a direct test of antibacterial immune
status. Challenge of rats 4 weeks after one dose of antigen may reveal a
form of immunity that is not related to antibodies in the intestine and
possibly is analogous to long-term immunity expressed in man following
infection with the organism. This immunity has not been attributed to
lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen and does not appear to involve
flagella-associated antigens; involvement of antigens other than LPS, such
as protein antigens of the outer membranes of V. cholerae, has not yet been
substantiated. Separation of monomeric sub-units of outer-membrane proteins
by hydrophobic interaction high pressure liquid chromatography has revealed
significant quantitative differences among preparations derived from the
common serotypes of the organism. These differences may be sufficient to
explain the better protection observed when homologous serotypes were used
for immunisation and challenge in the long-term resistance model.
