Sr. Andersen et al., HETEROGENEITY OF LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDES OF NEISSERIA-MENINGITIDIS REVEALED BY THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY COMBINED WITH MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES, Journal of microbiological methods, 25(2), 1996, pp. 187-194
Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used for revealing the heterogenei
ty of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Neisseria meningitidis. A complex
pattern consisting of at least 4 bands was achieved for the vaccine s
train N. meningitidis 44/76. The complexity remained unchanged after d
ephosphorylation, but removal of both phosphate and O-acyl groups simp
lified the pattern into two bands. The band patterns of LPS of strain
44/76 after growth in two different media were substantially different
, but became identical upon dephosphorylation. Staining of LPS on TLC
plates by use of immunotype specific monoclonal antibodies provided sp
ecific band patterns at high sensitivity. In addition to revealing str
uctural heterogeneity, the TLC system may thus be used for characteris
ation and differentiation of LPS-specific antibodies.