Monoclonal antibody against Mycoplasma fermentans-specific aminoglycoglycerolipid

Previously, we reported that Mycoplasma fermentans has specific antigens (phosphocholine-containing glycoglycerolipids: GGPL-I and GGPL-III) and discussed the possibility of their pathogenic role. In this paper, we report the characterization of a monoclonal antibody (MF-III-1) specific to GGPL-III (phosphocholine-containing aminoglycoglycerolipid) using methods of electron microscopy, immunofluorescence cell surface staining, laser scanning microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, and thin-layer chromatography immunostaining. The MF-III-1 antibody specifically recognized M. fermentans attached to the surface of HTLV-I-infected human helper T-cells, and it did not cross-react with other lipids nor with human T-cell antigens. Since MF-III-1 distinguishes GGPL-III from GGPL-I, the binding site may include a serinol (2-amino-1,3-propanediol) residue of GGPL-III. MF-III-1 is useful for the in vitro study of M. fermentans, and may also be useful as a tool for the study of the involvement of M. fermentans in human diseases.