Antibodies against Shigella flexneri adhesion molecule outer membrane protein (OMP) can cross-react with OMPs of some Shigella species

Purpose: To identify a Shigella flexneri hemagglutinin outer membrane protein (OMP) as an adhesion factor and examine its ability to cross-react with the OMPs of other Shigella species. Methods: OMP was isolated from the bacterium S. flexneri after shaving the pili using a pili bacterial cutter in a solution of 0.5 % n-octyl-a-D-glucopyranoside. Hemagglutination was evaluated using mice erythrocytes. The molecular weight (MW) of the OMPs was profiled by SDS-PAGE. Adhesion molecules were identified by calculating the index of adhesion. Thereafter, antigen cross-reaction with antibodies was examined by Western blotting, Results: The S. flexneri adhesion molecule OMP has a MW of 28 kDa. An antibody against the 28 kDa S. flexneri OMP adhesion molecule cross-reacted with different MW OMPs from other Shigella species. Conclusion: This study showed that the 28 kDa S. flexneri OMP is a hemagglutinin adhesion protein, and antibodies against it can cross-react with the OMPs of other Shigella species.