Ar. Bhatti et al., PRODUCTION AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HYBRIDOMA CLONES SECRETINGMONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES AGAINST FRANCISELLA-TULARENSIS, Hybridoma, 12(2), 1993, pp. 197-202
Hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies against Francisella tularen
sis cellular antigens were produced and characterized. These monoclona
l antibodies reacted with F. tularensis in ELISA but not by immunoblot
, indicating that the antibodies are directed against conformational e
pitopes. One of these monoclonal antibodies was directed against outer
membrane protein (OMP) components, and the remainder are likely direc
ted against capsular components. The OMP-specific monoclonal antibodie
s are F. tularensis-specific in contrast to the others which cross-rea
ct with a number of other bacterial species. These OMP-specific monocl
onal antibodies are of the IgG1 subclass, and may prove to be a useful
diagnostic tool for detection and identification of F. tularensis in
clinical materials.