Monoclonal antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis lipopolysaccharide

A cell line producing monoclonal antibodies directed against a lipopolysaccharide component of Neisseria meningitidis group A has been established. These antibodies reacted with only one of three lipopolysaccharide serotyping strains of group A meningococci by coagglutination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting techniques. A Western blot analysis showed that a NaOH digest of lipopolysaccharide was detectable by the serotype-specific antibody. The monoclonal antibodies cross-reacted with a group B meningococcal strain in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The immunoblotting analysis also showed that these antibodies reacted with the lipopolysaccharides of a group B meningococcus as well as Haemophilus influenzae type B, but not with the lipopolysaccharides of several strains of Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.