Monoclonal antibodies against conserved epitopes of a 46-kDa protein from Neisseria meningitidis

The purpose of the present study was to generate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against conserved epitopes of B meningococcus which could be applicable to the immunoscreening of bacterial meningitis. Three mAbs reactive to a 46-kDa protein conserved in eight serogroups and several sero(sub)types of Neisseria meningitidis were selected for the present study. No reaction was detected wlth wholecell lysates of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b or Escherichia coli. Two of these mAbs recognized 46-kDa epitopes in four other Neisseria spp, and the third, MC3.13, cross-reacted only with N. lactamica. All mAbs reacted with whole-cell lysates from a N. meningitidis mutant strain lacking the class 1 outer membrane protein (43 -47 kDa). Immunoelectron microscopy revealed a cytoplasmic location for the 46-kDa protein. The MC3.13 monoclonal antibody is potentially applicable to a rapid screening of bacterial meningitis.