Pathogen specific carbohydrate antigen microarrays: a chip for detection of Salmonella O-antigen specific antibodies

Ola Blixt1, Julia Hoffmann, Stefan Svenson

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology, Glycan Array Synthesis Core D, Consortium for Functional Glycomics. The Scripps Research Institute, CB 248A 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. olablixt@scripps.edu

A Salmonella O-antigen microarray was developed by covalent coupling of oligosaccharide antigens specific for serogroups Salmonella enterica sv. Paratyphi (group A), Typhimurium (group B) and Enteritidis (group D). Antibodies were correctly detected in sera from patients with culture verified salmonellosis. High serogroup-specificity was seen with the disaccharide antigens. With the larger antigens, containing the backbone sequence Manalpha1-2Rhaalpha1-2Gal (MRG), common backbone-specific antibodies (O-antigen 12) were also detected. This is "proof of principle" that pathogen-specific carbohydrate antigen microarrays constitute a novel technology for rapid and specific serological diagnosis in either individual patients or larger sero-epidemiological and vaccine studies.