Improvements in the diagnosis of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia through the use of monoclonal antibodies

Seventeen monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against Mycoplasma mycoides ssp. mycoides small colony type (Mmm SC), the causative agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), were partially characterised. Six MAbs recognising a main protein of 70 kDa and showing reciprocal competition were found to be specific for Mmm SC, while the other MAbs showed different patterns of reactivity with Mycoplasma spp. within the mycoides "cluster". Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) performed with different combinations of MAbs enabled the detection of Mycoplasma of the mycoides cluster in pathology samples and the specific identification of Mmm SC from the initial culture passages, overcoming the necessity for difficult and time-consuming biochemical and growth inhibition assays. A competitive ELISA based on Mmm SC-specific MAbs was able to measure anti-CBPP antibodies in cattle sera, and detected only the set of antibodies directed at Mmm SC-specific epitopes, thus avoiding the false-positive reactions occasionally observed with the complement fixation test.