Production of Vibrio cholerae O1 and non-O1 typing sera in rabbits immunized with polysaccharide-protein carrier conjugates.

Two systems are currently used to serologically type Vibrio cholerae O1 and non-O1 isolates. Antiserovar-serotype serum in the Smith system is produced in rabbits immunized with live whole-cell vaccines, and that in the Sakazaki system is produced in rabbits immunized with heat-killed vaccines. In neither system is the serovar-serotype-specific antigen clearly defined. During the course of a serological survey, ca. 10% of more than 2,500 V. cholerae isolates examined agglutinated in the optimal dilutions of two, three, or four different anti-serovar sera prepared by the methods of Sakazaki. An occasional isolate agglutinated in both anti-O1 and non-O1 sera. Lipopolysaccharide was extracted from eight of these possible multiple serovars, coated onto rabbit erythrocytes, and retested in these same antisera by passive hemagglutination. With one exception the lipopolysaccharide-rabbit erythrocytes were now agglutinated in a single antiserum. Antipolysaccharide sera were produced in rabbits immunized with the polysaccharide moiety extracted from eight non-O1 and two O1 vaccine strains conjugated to bovine gamma globulin protein carrier. The antipolysaccharide sera showed passive hemagglutination titers versus lipopolysaccharide-rabbit erythrocytes comparable to those achieved in antisera from rabbits immunized with heat-killed whole-cell vaccines. In the slide agglutination test antipolysaccharide sera serologically discriminated between two O1 isolates that were previously agglutinated in both anti-O1 and anti-non-O1 whole-cell sera. It is recommended that serological types or varieties of V. cholerae non-O1 be based upon serologically recognizable differences in lipopolysaccharide-associated antigens as are antigens A, B, and C in the O1 group.