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Infection and Immunity, December 1998, p. 5848-5853, Vol. 66, No. 12
Division of Bacterial Products, Center for
Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration,
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Received 20 May 1998/Returned for modification 10 July
1998/Accepted 3 September 1998
The presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against group B
streptococcus (GBS) type III polysaccharide (PS) has been correlated
with protection against GBS disease. The GBS type III PS is
structurally similar to the pneumococcal type 14 PS, differing only in
the presence of sialic acid residues. Four different preparations of
GBS type III PS were evaluated for their specificity in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): free PS, free PS mixed with methylated human serum albumin (mHSA), PS conjugated to biotin and PS conjugated to human serum albumin. Three groups of human sera were used to evaluate these PS preparations: sera from recipients of a GBS PS
vaccine, sera from women receiving a GBS type III PS-tetanus toxoid
conjugate vaccine, and sera from nonimmunized healthy women of
childbearing age. Estimated antibody concentrations were different depending on the PS preparation used. Using any of the four
preparations, we were able to measure
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Estimation of Group B Streptococcus Type III
Polysaccharide-Specific Antibody Concentrations in Human Sera Is
Antigen Dependent
0.05 µg of IgG antibody to
the GBS type III PS per ml. The specificity of the assay was determined
by competitive inhibition with homologous and heterologous PS. The pneumococcal type 14 PS did not inhibit binding of antibody to the
native GBS type III PS in sera from adults receiving the GBS PS vaccine
or in sera from nonimmunized adults (except serum G9). The pneumococcal
type 14 PS inhibited 50% in sera from recipients of GBS type III
conjugate vaccine and in serum G9 when GBS type III PS conjugated to
biotin or to HSA was used as antigen in ELISA. These data show that
free GBS type III PS or PS mixed with mHSA is a sensitive and specific
antigen for ELISA and that conjugation can alter the antigenic
specificity of a PS.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Bacterial Polysaccharides, Division of Bacterial Products, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, 29 Lincoln Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-9173. Fax: (301) 402-2776. E-mail:
vaccine{at}helix.nih.gov.
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