F. Thiaucourt et al., THE USE OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF CONTAGIOUS CAPRINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA (CCPP), Veterinary microbiology, 41(3), 1994, pp. 191-203
Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia is a severe disease affecting goats
in Eastern Africa and the Middle East, caused by Mycoplasma sp. type
F38. Its exact geographical distribution is however not exactly known
due to the lack of specificity of the available serological tests and
the difficulty in cultivating M. sp. F38. A panel of monoclonal antibo
dies (mAbs) was produced, using crude or membrane proteins antigens fr
om type F38 strains to immunize mice. The reactivity of the mAbs was t
ested by an immunobinding assay with crude mycoplasma antigens spotted
on nitrocellulose filters. One hundred and twelve antigens, standardi
zed at 0.5 mg protein/ml, were used. Mycoplasma strains were chosen am
ong closely related species of the ''mycoides cluster'', M. capricolum
, Group 7 of Leach, M. mycoides mycoides LC, M. mycoides mycoides SC,
M. mycoides capri, as well as among species that are isolated from goa
t lungs, M. arginini, M. ovipneumoniae, M. putrefaciens, M. agalactiae
. Out of 60 mAbs, 4 were chosen to build an identification test for my
coplasmas of the ''mycoides cluster''. Controls showed that accurate i
dentification could be hampered by antigenic heterogeneity within the
M. capricolum species. One mAb was used for the direct detection of M.
sp. F38 antigen in pleural fluid from goats suspected of CCPP. The se
nsitivity of the test can be estimated at 0.5 mu g protein/ml. Compari
son with isolation results show a 74% agreement between the two method
s. The same mAb was used to build a blocking ELISA. This serological t
est was Strictly specific for CCPP. It detects antibodies in sera of n
aturally infected or artificially immunized animals while it remained
negative with hyperimmune sera to related strains such as PG 50. Direc
t antigen detection and blocking ELISA are tools that may enable a bet
ter assessment of CCPP distribution.