[A monoclonal antibody-based study of the antigenic interrelations of typical and R forms of Vibrio cholerae]

Monoclonal antibodies to surface determinants of V. cholerae R forms (R-McA) were obtained. R-McA and monoclonal antibodies to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of V. cholerae S forms (S-McA) were used to show that the LPS of deeply altered vibrios, agglutinating only with RO serum, completely lost its O-side chain. Some common O determinants on the basis of S-McA were detected in typical cultures of V. cholerae O1 and RO vibrios which agglutinated to 1/4 T with O serum and, in low titers, with RO serum. V. cholerae O1 were not capable of specifically binding with R-McA. Not all R strains under study were identified with the use of available R-McA due to essential differences of their terminal monosaccharides responsible for serological specificity.