The use of inhibitors of N-linked glycosylation and oligosaccharide processing to produce monoclonal antibodies against non-phosphorylcholine epitopes of Brugia pahangi excretory-secretory products

Adult Brugia pahangi were cultured with [³H]-choline in both the absence and the presence of either tunicamycin or 1-deoxymannojirimycin (dMM), inhibitors of N-linked glycosylation and N-linked oligosaccharide processing, respectively. Excretory-secretory products (ES) were recovered from the spent medium and examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis/fluorography. Both inhibitors were found to prevent radiolabeling of ES, a result consistent with blockage of the addition of the highly immunodominant phosphorylcholine (PC) group. Tunicamycin/dMM-treated ES were subsequently employed to immunise a mouse in an attempt to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against non-PC epitopes of ES. Three mAbs were isolated, each of which reacted with ES but not with PC. Received: 12 February 1997 / Accepted: 7 May 1997