Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1992 Sep;30(9):2441–2446. doi: 10.1128/jcm.30.9.2441-2446.1992

Serological studies of antigenic similarity between Japanese spotted fever rickettsiae and Weil-Felix test antigens.

K Amano 1, H Hatakeyama 1, M Okuta 1, T Suto 1, F Mahara 1
PMCID: PMC265520  PMID: 1383270

Abstract

Acute and convalescent-phase sera obtained from 10 patients infected with a Japanese strain of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsia were tested by the indirect immunoperoxidase test, the Weil-Felix test, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoblotting. By the Weil-Felix test, the reactivity of these sera to the OX2 antigen was higher than those to the OX19 antigen, as is the case with sera from persons infected with other SFG rickettsiae. By ELISA, the titers of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against OX2 corresponded to the Weil-Felix test titers of these sera against OX2 but not to the titers obtained with IgG antibodies. The reactivity of the patient sera with the OX2 antigen in the Weil-Felix test was probably due to IgM antibodies against antigens which OX2 and SFG rickettsiae have in common. By immunoblotting tests, both IgG and IgM antibodies from the patient sera reacted with lipopolysaccharides from SFG rickettsiae and Proteus strain OX2. These results may show that these lipopolysaccharides contain similar epitopes.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

2444Image
on p.2444
2445Image
on p.2445

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Amano K., Hatakeyama H., Sasaki Y., Ito R., Tamura A., Suto T. Electron microscopic studies on the in vitro proliferation of spotted fever group rickettsia isolated in Japan. Microbiol Immunol. 1991;35(8):623–629. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1991.tb01594.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Amano K., Mizushiri S., Fujii S., Fukushi K., Suto T. Immunological characterization of lipopolysaccharides from Proteus strains used in Weil-Felix test and reactivity with patient sera of tsutsugamushi diseases. Microbiol Immunol. 1990;34(2):135–145. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1990.tb00998.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Amano K., Tamura A., Ohashi N., Urakami H., Kaya S., Fukushi K. Deficiency of peptidoglycan and lipopolysaccharide components in Rickettsia tsutsugamushi. Infect Immun. 1987 Sep;55(9):2290–2292. doi: 10.1128/iai.55.9.2290-2292.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Amano K., Williams J. C. Chemical and immunological characterization of lipopolysaccharides from phase I and phase II Coxiella burnetii. J Bacteriol. 1984 Dec;160(3):994–1002. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.3.994-1002.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Amano K., Williams J. C., Missler S. R., Reinhold V. N. Structure and biological relationships of Coxiella burnetii lipopolysaccharides. J Biol Chem. 1987 Apr 5;262(10):4740–4747. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Anacker R. L., Philip R. N., Williams J. C., List R. H., Mann R. E. Biochemical and immunochemical analysis of Rickettsia rickettsii strains of various degrees of virulence. Infect Immun. 1984 Jun;44(3):559–564. doi: 10.1128/iai.44.3.559-564.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hitchcock P. J., Brown T. M. Morphological heterogeneity among Salmonella lipopolysaccharide chemotypes in silver-stained polyacrylamide gels. J Bacteriol. 1983 Apr;154(1):269–277. doi: 10.1128/jb.154.1.269-277.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mahara F., Koga K., Sawada S., Taniguchi T., Shigemi F., Suto T., Tsuboi Y., Ooya A., Koyama H., Uchiyama T. [The first report of the rickettsial infections of spotted fever group in Japan: three clinical cases]. Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 1985 Nov;59(11):1165–1171. doi: 10.11150/kansenshogakuzasshi1970.59.1165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mandatori R., Penner J. L. Structural and antigenic properties of Campylobacter coli lipopolysaccharides. Infect Immun. 1989 Nov;57(11):3506–3511. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.11.3506-3511.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mizushiri S., Amano K., Fuji S., Fukushi K., Watanabe M. Chemical characterization of lipopolysaccharides from Proteus strains used in Weil-Felix test. Microbiol Immunol. 1990;34(2):121–133. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1990.tb00997.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Oakley B. R., Kirsch D. R., Morris N. R. A simplified ultrasensitive silver stain for detecting proteins in polyacrylamide gels. Anal Biochem. 1980 Jul 1;105(2):361–363. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(80)90470-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schramek S., Brezina R., Kazár J. Some biological properties of an endotoxic lipopolysaccharide from the typhus group rickettsiae. Acta Virol. 1977 Sep;21(5):439–441. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Suto T. Evidence of spotted fever rickettsial infection in Japan as demonstrated by the indirect immunoperoxidase test. Microbiol Immunol. 1985;29(12):1243–1246. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1985.tb00914.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Suto T., Hatakeyama H., Ito R., Nakamura Y., Mahara F. [In vitro susceptibility of a strain of Rickettsia recently isolated from a case of Japanese spotted fever to chemotherapeutic agents]. Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 1989 Jan;63(1):35–38. doi: 10.11150/kansenshogakuzasshi1970.63.35. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Tsai C. M., Frasch C. E. A sensitive silver stain for detecting lipopolysaccharides in polyacrylamide gels. Anal Biochem. 1982 Jan 1;119(1):115–119. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(82)90673-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Uchida T., Mahara F., Tsuboi Y., Oya A. Spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Japan. Jpn J Med Sci Biol. 1985 Jun;38(3):151–153. doi: 10.7883/yoken1952.38.151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Uchida T., Tashiro F., Funato T., Kitamura Y. Isolation of a spotted fever group Rickettsia from a patient with febrile exanthematous illness in Shikoku, Japan. Microbiol Immunol. 1986;30(12):1323–1326. doi: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1986.tb03053.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Uchida T., Yu X. J., Uchiyama T., Walker D. H. Identification of a unique spotted fever group rickettsia from humans in Japan. J Infect Dis. 1989 Jun;159(6):1122–1126. doi: 10.1093/infdis/159.6.1122. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Uchiyama T., Uchida T., Walker D. H. Species-specific monoclonal antibodies to Rickettsia japonica, a newly identified spotted fever group rickettsia. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 Jun;28(6):1177–1180. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.6.1177-1180.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Vinogradov E. V., Kaca W., Rózalski A., Shashkov A. S., Cedzynski M., Knirel Y. A., Kochetkov N. K. Structural and immunochemical studies of O-specific polysaccharide of Proteus vulgaris 5/43 belonging to OX19 group (O-variants). Eur J Biochem. 1991 Aug 15;200(1):195–201. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1991.tb21067.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES