Monoclonal Antibody That Recognizes an Outer Membrane Antigen Common to the Pathogenic Neisseria Species but not to Most

A hybridoma derived from a mouse immunized with gonococcal outer membranes produced an antibody, designated H.8, that bound to all strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis tested, and to N. lactamica and N. cinerea, but only rarely to other nonpathogenic Neisseria species. Studies with the gonococcal strain used in production of the antibody showed that the antibody bound to a surface-exposed, protease-sensitive, and heat-modifiable outer membrane antigen that we believe is distinct from previously described gonococcal outer membrane proteins. The genus Neisseria is composed of a number of different species, all of which share certain properties and biochemi-cal activities. Within this genus, however, there are both pathogenic and commensal species. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis are responsible for a variety of infec-tions of varying severity and public health cost. The factors that determine the type of infection caused, or those that differentiate the pathogenic species from commensal Neis-seria species, are not well understood