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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, May 2003, p. 459-468, Vol. 10, No. 3
1071-412X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.10.3.459-468.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Monoclonal Antibodies to Escherichia coli-Expressed P46 and P65 Membranous Proteins for Specific Immunodetection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in Lungs of Infected Pigs

INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Université du Québec, Laval, Québec, Canada, H7V 1B

Received 18 July 2002/ Returned for modification 18 November 2002/ Accepted 22 January 2003

The P46 and P65 proteins of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae are two membranous proteins carrying species-specific antigenic determinants. Based on the genomic sequence of the reference strain ATCC 25934, primers were designed for PCR amplification of the genes encoding entire P46 (1,260 bp) and P65 (1,803 bp) and N-terminally truncated P65_c (1,200 bp). These primers were shown to be specific to M. hyopneumoniae since no DNA amplicons could be obtained with other mycoplasma species that commonly colonize the porcine respiratory tract. Both amplified genes were then cloned into the pGEX-4T-1 vector to be expressed in Escherichia coli cells as recombinant fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST). Prior to generation of expression constructs, TGA nonsense codons, exceptionally used for tryptophan residues by M. hyopneumoniae, had been converted to TGG codons by PCR-directed mutagenesis. Following induction by IPTG (isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside), both GST-P46 and GST-P65_c recombinant fusion proteins were recovered by disrupting transformed cells by sonication, purified by affinity chromatography, and then cut with thrombin to release the P46 and P65_c moieties. The enriched E. coli-expressed P46 and P65c proteins were used to immunize female BALB/c mice for the generation of anti-P46 and anti-P65_c monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The polypeptide specificities of MAbs obtained was confirmed by Western blotting with cell lysates prepared from the homologous strain. Cross-reactivity study of the anti-P46 and anti-P65_c MAbs towards two other M. hyopneumoniae reference strains (ATCC 25095 and J strains) and Quebec field strains that had been isolated in culture, suggested that the MAbs obtained against both membranous proteins were directed against highly conserved species-specific epitopes. No reactivity to other mycoplasma species tested was demonstrated. Clinical signs and lesions suggestive of enzootic pneumonia were reproduced in specific-pathogen-free pigs that had been inoculated intratracheally with a virulent Quebec field strain (IAF-DM9827) of M. hyopneumoniae. Both anti-P46 and anti-P65_c MAbs permitted effective detection by indirect immunofluorescence and indirect immunoperoxidase assay of M. hyopneumoniae in, respectively, frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung sections from pigs that were killed after the 6- to 7-week observation period.