Monoclonal Antibodies for Specific Detection of Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Seven species-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against Encephalitozoon cuniculi and characterized. The MAbs were immunoglobulin G, and when used for indirect microimmunofluorescence microscopy and Western immunoblot assays, they detected E. cuniculi originating from clinical samples. They did not cross-react with other Encephalitozoon species (E. intestinalis and E. hellem) or with a collection of gram-negative bacteria, yeast, and other parasites. The MAbs reacted primarily with 121-, 56-, 45-, 43-, and 41-kDa protein epitopes of E. cuniculi. These epitopes were demonstrated to be E. cuniculi species specific by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We developed MAbs to strains of E. cuniculi that can be used successfully to distinguish E. cuniculi from other microsporidial species in cultures established from clinical specimens. These MAbs may provide a specific, simple, rapid, and low-cost tool for the identification and diagnosis of infections due to microsporidia.