Open AccessVariation of the O antigen of Campylobacter jejuni in vivo
Author(s) -
Scott D. Mills,
B Kuzniar,
B Shames,
L A Kurjanczyk,
J L Penner
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of medical microbiology/journal of medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1473-5644
pISSN - 0022-2615
DOI - 10.1099/00222615-36-3-215
Subject(s) - campylobacter jejuni , biology , serotype , antigen , microbiology and biotechnology , campylobacteriosis , campylobacter fetus , antigenic variation , restriction enzyme , in vivo , campylobacter , hemagglutination , gel electrophoresis , bacteria , virology , dna , immunology , genetics
During the course of a clinical study on patients with campylobacteriosis, three consecutive isolates of Campylobacter jejuni from the same patient were sent for O-serotyping. Marked differences in the specificities of the O antigens of the isolates were observed between the first and third isolates when a passive haemagglutination assay system developed for serotyping C. jejuni was used. Differences in specificity were also demonstrated by immunoblots of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from proteinase K-digested whole cells. The three isolates could not be distinguished either by restriction endonuclease analysis of chromosomal DNA, by gel electrophoresis of whole-cell proteins or by silver-stained LPS gels, thus providing evidence that they were of the same strain and that antigenic variation had occurred in vivo.