CHARACTERIZATION OF SMOOTH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDES AND O-POLYSACCHARIDES OF BRUCELLA SPECIES BY COMPETITION BINDING ASSAYS WITH MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

Previously, four epitope specificities on the O chain of Brucella spec ies were reported: M, A, C, and C/Y. In this work, according to monocl onal antibody binding to smooth lipopolysaccharides of Yersinia entero colitica O:9, Brucella abortus W99 (A-dominant strain), and B. meliten sis Rev1 (M dominant strain), seven O-chain epitope specificities were defined: M, A, C (M > A), C (M = A), C/Y (M > A), C/Y (M = A) and C/Y (A > M). Competitive binding assays between these monoclonal antibodi es suggested that these different epitopes are probably overlapping st ructures.