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Anti-Capsular Antibodies Activate Killing Of Escherichia Coli O8:K87 By The Alternate Complement Pathway In Porcine Serum, N. M. Clark, E. M. Berberov, M. Wang, Rodney A. Moxley

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains that produce K88 (F4) ⁺ fimbria are important causes of diarrhea and post-diarrheal septicemia in swine. ETEC O8:K87, a serotype represented by a number of these strains, is typically serum resistant. Strain-specific antibodies are known to activate alternative C pathway-mediated killing of other serum-resistant E. coli [Hill, A.W., Shears, A.L., Hibbitt, K.G., 1978. The requirement of specific antibody for the killing of E. coli by the alternate complement pathway in bovine serum. Immunology 34, 131–136], but their antigenic targets have not been determined. We tested the hypothesis that anti-K87 antibodies activate alternative pathway-mediated killing of …