Solubilization and characterization of surface antigenic components of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae T28

The antigenicity of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae T28 (serotype 2) was investigated. Antigens were solubilized from the cell surface with detergents. By means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting it was shown that the molecular weight of the main antigenic component--a nonprotein--was 14,000 to 22,000. This major antigen was shown to be a polydisperse anionic polysaccharide located on the surface of E. rhusiopathiae. Affinity chromatography also revealed a number of immunologically active proteins with molecular weights of 78,000, 72,000, 68,000, and 48,000.