Immunogenic comparison of two coupling methods of marine polysaccharide to bovine serum albumin.

Two conjugates of marine polysaccharide (MPS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were prepared using two methods, periodate oxidation and reductive amination, with the intent of enhancing its immunogenicity. Sera samples from Balb/c mice immunized with the products named MPS-BSAp and MPS-BSAr respectively were evaluated by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that mice immunized with MPS-BSAp produced antibodies not against MPS but rather against MPS-BSAp, while the mice immunized with MPS-BSAr produced high titer antibodies only specific for MPS. The difference was attributed to the fact that the epitopes of MPS had been changed in the coupling process by periodate oxidation. A mouse immunized with MPS-BSAr was chosen to prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for polysaccharide MPS. A hybridoma cell line that secreted monoclonal antibody recognizing specifically polysaccharide MPS was established.