Antigenicity of the surface proteins of non o1 non o139 vibrio cholerae in rabbit model

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to demonstrate the antigenicity of the surface proteins of the non O1 non O139 V. cholerae in rabbit model. Three rabbits were immunized with the surface proteins and sera were collected at one week intervals for six weeks. Sera were examined for antibodies specific for surface antigens using ELISA and the results showed a significant increase in antibody titers with time. The SDS?PAGE analysis showed a number of protein bands ranging from 21 to 131 kDa after Coomassie brilliant blue R250 staining. However, immunoblot analysis showed four major antigenic bands of 38, 43, 74 and 85 kDa to be prominent. These identified proteins might have higher immunogenic effects among humans infected with non O1 non O139 V. cholerae and some of these antigenic proteins could be included as diagnostic tools based on serology and also in vaccine preparations.