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. 1995 Jun;63(6):2180–2184. doi: 10.1128/iai.63.6.2180-2184.1995

Cross-reacting lipopolysaccharide antigens in Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1 to 14.

D Jürgens 1, F J Fehrenbach 1
PMCID: PMC173283  PMID: 7768596

Abstract

Immunological cross-reactions among Legionella species were investigated with sonicated, proteinase K-digested cell lysates. The antigens separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were either analyzed for lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) by silver staining or transferred to nitrocellulose membranes for serological characterization with rabbit antibodies directed against Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1 and 5. When antiserum prepared against serogroup 5 was used to probe the LPSs from L. pneumophila serogroups 1 to 14, the antibodies recognized a common epitope harbored by all L. pneumophila serogroups but not by other Legionella species or by the gram-negative bacteria tested as controls. Hence, the serogroup 5 antiserum correctly identified all serogroups of L. pneumophila tested in the LPS immunoblot assay. Moreover, the silver-stained profiles of the isolated LPSs revealed characteristic patterns allowing the identification of the individual serogroups of L. pneumophila.

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Selected References

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