The clonal antibody response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa heat shock protein is highly diverse in cystic fibrosis patients.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

The GroEL protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa belongs to the bacterial 60-65 kDa heat shock protein family. A strong antibody response to GroEL has been found in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with chronic pulmonary infection caused by P. aeruginosa. Clonotypes of IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies against GroEL were studied in 60 consecutive sera from 18 CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection using isoelectric focusing in combination with affinity immunoblotting. The persistent antigenic stimulation in CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection induced numerous IgG1 and particularly IgG2 antibody clones against GroEL. The appearance of new clones with time reflected the long duration of the chronic infection. A striking addition of new clonotypes during the observation period occurred when a new unrelated bacterium (Burkholderia cepacia) had become established as a cause of the pulmonary infection, or when the P. aeruginosa infection became chronic.
Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Pathologica Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica
Volume105
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)449-56
Number of pages7
ISSN0903-4641
Publication statusPublished - 1997

Bibliographical note

Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies, Bacterial; Antibody Diversity; Chronic Disease; Cystic Fibrosis; Female; GroEL Protein; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Male; Pseudomonas Infections

ID: 8745029