Immunoblotting patterns with Mycoplasma pneumoniae of serum specimens from infected and non-infected subjects

Two hundred and ninety-four serum specimens from 248 subjects, whose complement fixation (CF) titres to Mycoplasma pneumoniae were known, were further investigated by IgG immunoblotting. After analysis of M. pneumoniae proteins by SDS-PAGE, nine polypeptides (p) with mol. wts of 180-43 Kda were selected for immunoblotting studies. Antibodies to M. pneumoniae measured by immunoblotting appeared progressively with age; most subjects more than 19 years old gave positive results. For most of the polypeptides, there was an increase in the frequency of band detection when the CF titres were higher. Furthermore, paired serum specimens from 10 patients with M. pneumoniae infection, as demonstrated by a rise in CF antibody titre, were tested for IgG blotting patterns. Generally, p180 (the P1 adhesin of M. pneumoniae), p172 and p84 were shown to be the dominant targets of the immune response to this organism and may have diagnostic value.