Monoclonal antibodies directed against lipopolysaccharide of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1

The monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against lipopolysaccharide of virulent strain of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 were produced. Three most productive hybrid clones (5F4, 5F10 and 2C9) were selected from fusions of mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells from BALB/c mice, immunized with bacterial outer membrane antigens. All generated clones were IgG-secreting. The MAbs had narrow strain specificity and showed no cross-reactions with other unrelated bacterial species. These antibodies were tested in sandwich ELISA. The results suggest that the MAbs could be used for diagnostic purposes.