AUTHOR=Palusiak Agata 

TITLE=The Contribution of Polysaccharide Antigens From Clinical Proteus spp. and Klebsiella spp. Isolates to the Serological Cross-Reactions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.707578

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.707578

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Klebsiella</italic> spp. and <italic>Proteus</italic> spp. cause hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are often related to the use of catheters. To create a vaccine preventing UTI, immunogenic bacterial antigens with common epitopes are still being looked for. In this work, the role of polysaccharide antigens of four <italic>Klebsiella</italic> spp. and eight <italic>Proteus</italic> spp. strains in serological cross-reactions with specific antisera was examined. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blotting, and silver staining by Tsai method were performed. The <italic>Klebsiella</italic> and <italic>Proteus</italic> spp. LPSs and cells were used as antigens. Polyclonal rabbit sera specific to <italic>Klebsiella oxytoca</italic> 0.023 and 0.062 strains and four <italic>Klebsiella</italic> spp. LPSs were obtained. The ELISA and Western blotting results showed the strongest cross-reactions occurring between lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) from four <italic>Klebsiella</italic> strains and <italic>P. vulgaris</italic> O42 antiserum. The silver-staining procedure revealed the patterns typical of both slow- and fast-migrating mass species of the <italic>Klebsiella</italic> LPSs. The <italic>Klebsiella</italic> spp. antigens also cross-reacted with four <italic>P. penneri</italic> antisera, and most of the reactions were observed as low-migrating patterns. From two <italic>K. oxytoca</italic> antisera obtained in this work, only one, the <italic>K. oxytoca</italic> 0.062 antiserum, cross-reacted with satisfactory strength with <italic>P. penneri</italic> LPSs (19, 22, and 60). Obtaining cross-reactions between the antigens of <italic>Klebsiella</italic> strains and <italic>Proteus</italic> antisera and in the opposite systems is important for proving the immunogenic role of polysaccharide antigens in triggering the immunological response.</p>