Demonstration of a common antigen in sonicated cells for identification of Vibrio vulnificus serotypes

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2: development and field studies

Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is a primary eel pathogen which constitutes a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-based homogeneous O serogroup within the species. In the present work, we have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the specificity of LPS for the detection of this pathogen. The ELISA specificity was confirmed after testing 36 biotype 2 strains from laboratory cultures and environmental samples, 31 clinical and environmental biotype 1 isolates, and several strains of Vibrio, Aeromonas, and Yersinia species, including the fish pathogens V. anguillarum, V. furnissii, A. hydrophila, and Y. ruckerii. The detection limits for biotype 2 cells were around 10(4) to 10(5) cells/well, and the immunoassay was also able to detect cells in the nonculturable state. Artificially infected eels and environmental samples were analyzed, and the immunodetection was confirmed by cultural methods (isolation on selective and nonselective media before and after broth enrichment). With this methodology, V. vulnificus biotype 2 was successfully detected in infected eels and asymptomatic carriers, which suggests that eels can act as a reservoir for this pathogen.

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin to detect V. vulnificus in environmental specimens

Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin, purified by quantitative isoelectric focusing, was used to prepare rabbit and goat anti-hemolysin. The resulting antibodies were used as capture and detector antibody reagents in a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect V. vulnificus in environmental samples. By this technique, 4 laboratory-maintained V. vulnificus strains and 33 environmental V. vulnificus isolates were detected. Also, the technique distinguished five other Vibrio species from V. vulnificus, and when it was used in combination with colistin-polymyxin-cellobiose agar, 31 non-V. vulnificus isolated were excluded. This sandwich ELISA compared favorably with the current Food and Drug Administration standard immunoassay in confirming presumptive V. vulnificus colonies from environmental specimens: oysters, sediment, and seawater. Among 340 presumptive V. vulnificus colonies, the sandwich ELISA detected 95% of the confirmed V. vulnificus colonies. Equally important, the technique correctly distinguished 99% of the non-V. vulnificus colonies. The sandwich ELISA offers time-saving and labor-saving advantages over the currently accepted immunoassay.

Enzyme immunoassay for identification of Vibrio vulnificus in seawater, sediment, and oysters

Historically, methods used to identify Vibrio vulnificus in environmental samples have been inadequate because isolation and identification procedures are time-consuming and fail to separate V. vulnificus from other bacterial species. We describe an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and culture techniques which identified V. vulnificus in seawater, sediment, and oysters. The EIA used monoclonal antibody FRBT37 to a species-specific epitope of V. vulnificus. No cross-reactions were observed among 72 non-V. vulnificus strains comprising 34 species and 15 genera. In field trials, the EIA identified correctly 99.7% of 348 biochemically confirmed V. vulnificus isolates. The epitope corresponding to FRBT37 was found in cells lysed by Triton X-100, deionized H2O, and ultrasonication but was not found in culture supernatants, indicating that its location was intracellular. In addition, electron micrographs of V. vulnificus labeled with FRBT37-biotin-avidin-gold showed that epitope FRBT37 reacted with fragments of lysed cells but not whole cells. FRBT37 was expressed when V. vulnificus was cultured in different growth media. The minimum level of detection of the EIA was approximately 2,000 V. vulnificus cells per EIA well. Epitope FRBT37 was labile at 70 degrees C for 30 min. Immunoblot and EIA plate formats reduced assay time and facilitated handling large numbers of test samples.

Rapid serological identification of Vibrio vulnificus by anti-H coagglutination

Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 cells were armed with anti-flagellar (anti-H) antibody produced in rabbits immunized with flagellar core protein prepared from Vibrio vulnificus. This reagent was assessed by coagglutination for its capacity to agglutinate and identify V. vulnificus. A species-specific H antigen is expressed in the core proteins of the polar flagella of V. vulnificus. Of 435 V. vulnificus isolates identified bacteriologically, 432 (99.3%) were agglutinated in the slide test within 2 min after the addition of the anti-V. vulnificus H coagglutination reagent. Other than Vibrio pelagius, the reagent did not agglutinate 19 heterologous Vibrio spp. tested, including 290 V. cholerae, 22 V. mimicus, 395 V. parahaemolyticus, and 16 V. fluvialis isolates recovered from seafood and the marine environment. The serological resolution of the coagglutination reaction was enhanced if the organism under test was suspended in 0.1 M Tris buffer-0.1 mM EDTA-1.0% Triton X-100 (TET) for 24 h before serological examination. The TET buffer also increased the sensitivity of the coagglutination reaction 100-fold over that for isolates suspended in 0.3% formalinized phosphate-buffered saline before testing. The anti-H coagglutination test is a rapid, serologically specific, and inexpensive procedure for identifying V. vulnificus one step beyond primary isolation.

Emergence of bactericidal and opsonizing antibody to Vibrio vulnificus following bacterial infection

Virulent isolates of Vibrio vulnificus resist the bactericidal and opsonizing effects of normal human serum, in contrast to environmental isolates, which are highly serum susceptible. Immune responses to bacteremic V. vulnificus infections in human subjects have not been characterized. Serum from a patient who survived sepsis caused by V. vulnificus had substantial bactericidal and opsonizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) for his own bloodstream isolate. Killing was mediated by the classical complement pathway, whereas opsonization was effected by either the classical or the alternative pathway. IgG that reacted strongly with 55-, 58-, and 68-kilodalton outer membrane proteins was present in the patient's convalescent-phase serum but was absent from normal human serum. These findings suggest that humoral immunity to V. vulnificus, mediated by bactericidal and opsonizing antibody, emerges during infection and may be due, in part, to IgG directed against identifiable outer membrane proteins.

Rapid microimmunodiffusion method with species-specific antiserum raised to purified antigen for identification of Vibrio vulnificus

An antigen common to Vibrio vulnificus strains, designated VVA, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, ion-exchange column chromatography, and preparative gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of VVA was 64,000 when estimated by gel filtration and 40,000 when measured by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Antiserum prepared against purified VVA (anti-VVA serum) did not agglutinate whole cells of V. vulnificus. Therefore, VVA was considered a possible internal antigen. By using anti-VVA serum, a microimmunodiffusion method was designed to detect the antigen VVA in bacterial cell lysates prepared from a single colony. This simple method allowed the specific identification of V. vulnificus as soon as 10 h after antigen preparation and therefore can be a useful tool in the identification of V. vulnificus from environmental or clinical specimens. VVA was not detected as a line of complete identity in some 20 other Vibrio species or in 7 other bacterial genera. VVA was present in all 63 isolates of V. vulnificus obtained from clinical and nonclinical sources.