Antigenic analysis of Chinese strains of spotted fever group rickettsiae by protein immunoblotting.

Protein immunoblotting demonstrated that 6 Chinese strains of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae from northern China had antigenic polypeptides identical to those of Rickettsia siberica (strains 246 and 232), and dissimilar to other SFG rickettsiae. The various species of other SFG rickettsiae exhibited serologically distinct epitopes as well as many cross-reactive epitopes in protein immunoblotting. All SFG rickettsiae examined in this study had major antigenic polypeptides of 113-160 kDa.