Production of Monoclonal Antibodies Specific to Vivrio Cholerae 01

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Chi, Kefung AWARDEE ORGANIZATION: BioKwitech, Inc. 4204-L Sorrento Valley Boulevard San Diego, CA 92121 TELEPHONE NUMBER: (619) 587-6738 AWARDEE NUMBER: 200-93-0667 Cholera is a very severe epidemic disease caused by cholera toxin (CT) of Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae). Two major serotypes (Ogawa and Inaba) have been identified as defined by O antigens of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Accurate serotyping and rapid identification of CT producing strains of V. cholerae by using monoclonal antibody based immunoassays are critical in clinical service due to the threat of the disease. The principal objectives of this study is to produce a panel of high quality of monoclonal antibodies specific to individual O antigens and cholera toxin. This can be achieved by preparation of purified antigens from V. cholerae, immunization of mice with purified antigens, fusion of the splenocytes of immunized mice with myeloma cells to generate hybrids, screening of antibody producing clones from these hybrids and characterization of these monoclonal antibodies. It is expected that a panel of high quality of monoclonal antibodies will be developed in Phase I and can be used for further characterization in Phase II. These antibodies will be useful to both research and commercial markets for development of immunoassays for serotyping and identification of CT producing strains of V. cholerae.