Serological study of trichloroacetic acid extracts of Bacteroides fragilis

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Abstract
Immunodiffusion techniques were used on trichloroacetic acid extracts from 10 strains of B. fragilis in detecting precipitating antibodies against this species in immune rabbit sera. Species and strain specificities were observed in these precipitin reactions. Multiple antigens were detected in the extracts from some strains, whereas only 1 precipitin band/extract developed during agar-gel diffusion tests of others. The antigen extracts were heat stable and resistant to hydrolysis by .alpha.-chymotrypsin. Four serological patterns were demonstrated in homologous and heterologous reactions with the B. fragilis antigen-antibody systems used. Some strains were serologically distinct from others, indicating that the strains tested are of more than 1 serotype.