Open AccessDevelopment of an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Escherichia coli heat‐stable enterotoxin *
Author(s) -
Rönnberg Bengt,
Carlsson Jan,
Wadström Torkel
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1984.tb01077.x
Subject(s) - enterotoxin , heat stable enterotoxin , antiserum , escherichia coli , microbiology and biotechnology , enzyme , enterotoxigenic escherichia coli , chemistry , biology , antibody , biochemistry , gene , immunology
Purified heat‐stable enterotoxin (ST), produced by human strain C57/26C2 of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli , conjugated to human thyreoglobulin was used to raise rabbit antisera to develop an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for ST active in suckling mice and piglets (ST a ). This assay detected 15 pg of purified ST compared to 2 ng in the suckling mouse assay, and was specific for ST a in culture supernatants from strains of porcine, bovine, and human origins. Neither heat‐labile enterotoxin nor ST active in piglets but not in suckling mice (ST b ) cross‐reacted in the ELISA. The detection of ST in culture supernatants by the ELISA showed an excellent correlation with the suckling mouse assay. In conclusion, the ELISA is a more convenient assay for detection of ST a than the conventional suckling mouse assay.