ANTIGENICITY AND ANTIGENIC CROSS-REACTIVITY OF OUTER-MEMBRANE PROTEINS OF VIBRIO-PARAHAEMOLYTICUS

Antigenicity of outer membrane proteins was studied and compared betwe en Kanagawa positive (clinical) and negative (environmental) strains o f Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Murine antibodies recognized a wide range o f outer membrane proteins of Kanagawa negative strains as antigens wit h molecular masses ranging between 102 kDa to 14 kDa. However, only a few of the total outer membrane proteins of clinical isolates were ant igenic and comprised a 55kDa protein as the major antigen. Although a marked difference in antigenicity was found, molecular masses of outer membrane proteins of Kanagawa positive and negative strains migrated similarly in SDS-PAGE. Several outer membrane proteins of Kanagawa-pos itive strains were found to be antigenic and ubiquitous in a cross-rea ctivity study indicating that the ubiquitous proteins which could not be recognized by anti-KP antibodies were buried in the outer membrane.