Salmonella enteritidis-specific monoclonal antibodies

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were derived that are specific for Salmonella enteritidis. Such antibodies are of interest because reagents that specifically identify S. enteritidis are potentially useful for the diagnosis and detection of this pathogen. Immunization of BALB/c mice with intact, unfixed, ultraviolet-killed S. enteritidis permitted the derivation of a collection of hybridomas among which were found three MAbs: 1053, 1110, and 1170. Each MAb reacted with six independent field isolates of S. enteritidis, including phage type 4. However, none of these S. enteritidis-specific MAbs reacted with any of the following members of a broad diversity of Salmonella species: S. typhimurium, S. pullorum, S. berta, S. agona, S. dublin, S. miami, S. heidelberg, S. montevideo, S. senftenberg, and S. schwarzengrund. The S. enteritidis-specific determinant recognized by these MAbs is heat-labile, and preliminary experiments indicate that at least two of the MAbs recognize the same determinant.