REACTIVITY OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA ISOLATES FROM HOSPITALIZED ADULTS AND PATIENTS WITH CYSTIC-FIBROSIS

To assess the potential therapeutic use of three human monoclonal anti bodies (MAbs) and one murine MAb, we tested the reactivity of these MA bs toward 100 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Seventy-fiv e isolates were from hospitalized patients, while 25 were recovered fr om patients with documented cystic fibrosis. Nine isolates showed auto agglutination. The three human MAbs and one murine MAb exhibited agglu tination with 81% of the P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from hospital ized patients and with 72% of the isolates from patients with cystic f ibrosis. Eight of the autoagglutinating isolates were reactive in whol e-cell ELISAs with the MAbs. The isolates recovered from patients with cystic fibrosis were reactive mainly with a MAb that is directed to t he outer core of lipopolysaccharide (LPS); they showed hardly any reac tion with O antigen-specific MAbs or typing sera, a finding indicating that these isolates lacked the O antigen and that the outer core of t he LPS was still present. The reactivity of the MAb specific for the o uter core of LPS toward P. aeruginosa isolates from patients with cyst ic fibrosis has potential value in eradicating P. aeruginosa from thes e patients.