Dk. Sengupta et al., ANTIBODY AGAINST THE CAPSULE OF VIBRIO-CHOLERAE O139 PROTECTS AGAINSTEXPERIMENTAL CHALLENGE, Infection and immunity, 64(1), 1996, pp. 343-345
Antiserum to the capsular polysaccharide of an opaque variant of Vibri
o cholerae O139 strain MDO-12 recognizes capsular antigen in three dif
ferent colonial variants of the strain, although the amount of recogni
tion varies with the extent of opacity. The anti-capsular-polysacchari
de serum, at subagglutinating doses, protected suckling mice against c
hallenge with both the most opaque variant and the most translucent va
riant. Further studies indicated that the protection was associated wi
th inhibition of intestinal colonization by the vibrios. These results
thus highlight the potential importance of the capsule in immunoproph
ylaxis against cholera caused by V. cholerae O139.