Search for specific antigens of Pseudomonas pseudomallei : I. An analysis of sonic extracted antigens of P.pseudomallei by SDS-PAGE and immunoblot

ABSTRACT

 Melioidosis is still a fatal disease with high mortality rate, especially, in septicemic melioidosis.  Clinical manifestations of this disease are protean and mimick those of other infectious diseases.  Laboratory diagnosis is often too late as the patients died before the hemocultures were positive.  Thus, measurement of antibody level is of the most appropriate diagnostic approach.  In the past, the use of crude or non-specific antigens may account for false-positive results and high antibody levels in normal people in endemic areas.  In this study, a search for specific antigens of P. pseudomallei was carried out by using SDS-Page and immunoblot techniques.  The sonic extracted antigens obtained from 30 isolates of P. pseudomallei were analysed.  They all showed the same protein profiles.  The sonicated antigens which were found to be specific for P. pseudomallei had the melecular weight of 21, 18, 15.5 and 13 kDa.