Survey of Heat-Stable, Major Somatic Antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

A survey of all serogrouping schemata for Pseudomonas aeruginosa was conducted in order to identify all of the heat-stable major somatic antigens. In addition to the 12 antigens described in the schema of Habs (Z. Hyg. 144:218-228, 1957), five antigens from other schemata were found to be distinct. A grouping schema comprising 17 groups based on these antigens is proposed as the international serogrouping schema for P. aeruginosa. This schema is proposed as the backbone for future serotyping schemata that may include minor heat-stable antigens and heat-labile antigens. Several modifications of the schema are discussed. Variations of the schema can be adopted by individual laboratories without much confusion if the basic designations of the 17 antigens are retained. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated byGessard (10) in 1882 as the cause of bluish green coloration of surgical dressings. Within 5 years of this discovery, the pathogenicity of this organism in experimental animals was established by Charrin (6). In 1896 Wasserman (37) differentiated antibodies directed against exotoxins and bactericidal antibodies directed against cells of P . aeruginosa, and in 1902 Achard et al.(1) described agglutination of P . aeruginosa by the serum of a man who was infected with the isolated agent. In 1903 Eisenberg (8) attempted to use such antisera to differentiate Bacillus pyocyaneus from Bacillus fluorescens. Similar work was reported by Jacobsthal (14) and Trommsdorf (32), who used a few strains of Pseudomonas species.In 1926 Aoki (3) divided 50 strains of P . aeruginosa into 22 serotypes. This work was followed by the work of Kanzaki (15), Sandiford (30), Mayr-Harting (21), Christie (7), and van den Ende (33). The P . aeruginosa strains used by these workers were not preserved, and later investigators formed their own serotyping schemata as needed. The use of different serotyping schemata and the failure to preserve reference strains for future studies made it impossible to compare epidemiological data.In 1957, Habs (11) described a serogrouping schema for P. aeruginosa that was based on 12heat-stable somatic antigens. This schema has been used by most European workers in serological studies of P . aeruginosa from human sources. In 1960, Sandvik (31) described a serological study of P . aeruginosa strains from bovine infections and reported eight serogroups among these strains. Veron (35) found that only one of the serogroups of Sanvik (31) represented a new antigen that was not present in the schema of Habs (11) and proposed that group I1 of Sanvik (31) be added to the schema of Habs (11) as group 13. In 1961, Verder and Evans (34) described an antigenic schema for P . aeruginosa that was based on both heat-stable and heat-labile antigens and divided the species into 10 serogroups on the basis of the heat-stable antigens. This schema has been used by many American investigators for clinical serotyping. Relationships between the serogroups in the schemata of Habs (11)

Multiresistant serotype O 12Pseudomonas aeruginosa: evidence for a common strain in Europe

“…In addition, serotype 0 12 isolates from an outbreak in a London (Roehampton) burns unit (13) and recent isolates from this unit were included. The serotype strains and antisera were as described (8) and the phage and respective propagating strains were 7, 16, 21, 24, 31, 44, 68, 73, F7, F8, F10, 109, 119X, 352, 1214, M4, M6, C21, Cl1, C18 and 188/1 Carbenicillin and gentamicin resistance. Cultures were grown in tryptone soy broth (Oxoid) at 37°C for 18 h and 3 gul of an inoculum (c. 104 c.f.u.)…”

“…Nevertheless, antibiotic resistant strains are occasionally associated with large outbreaks of infection in hospitals and in recent years a number of reports have appeared documenting outbreaks of multiresistant serotype 0 12 P. aeruginosa in Greece (2) Italy (3,4) and Belgium (5,6). Serotype 0 12 was described originally by Habs (7) and is included in the 19 -2 566 T. L. PITT AND OTHERS International Antigenic Typing Scheme (IATS) (8), which forms the basis of the most widely used serotyping scheme for P. aeruginosa. This serotype is rare in the UK and North America, accounting for less than 0 5 % of clinical isolates (9,10).…”

Pseudomonas aeruginosa: study of Antibiotic Resistance and Molecular Typing in Hospital Infection Cases in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil

“…One ml of sterile saline solution (0.85 % NaCl) was drawn into tubes containing the Nutrient Agar cultures and mixed to produce a suspension containing the bacterial growth. The O-group was identified by slide agglutination with P. aeruginosa Antisera Kit (Denka Seiken Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), according to Homma (1982) and Liu et al (1983).…”

Dissociation of surface properties and "intrinsic" resistance to lactams in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…Cultures were serotyped by slide agglutination tests with the 17 antisera of the International AntigenicTyping Scheme (Liu et al, 1983). Additional antisera were prepared against the type strains of serotypes 0:2a and 0 : 2b and 0 : 5d (Veron, I961 ) and were used for the subdivision of serotypes 0 : 2 and 0 : 5 (Pitt, 1981).…”