Anti-Chlamydial MOMP Antibody, clone B-D3 clone B-D3, from mouse

Chlamydia trachomatis is a Gram-negative bacterium that is responsible to sexually transmitted diseases leading to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and outbreaks of trachoma-associated blindness and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). Chlamydia trachomatis consists of eighteen different serological variants (serovars) that include a few subvariants. These are identified based on serological reactivity of the epitopes on their outer membrane. Intracellularly chlamydia replicates within a vacuole. Chlamydia infection is initiated with the expression of a chlamydial early gene product(s), which isolate the inclusion from the endocytic-lysosomal pathway and makes it fusogenic with sphingomyelin-containing exocytic vesicles. This change in vesicular interaction allows the delivery of the vacuole to the peri-Golgi region of the host cell. Antigens from all members of the Chlamydia genus display heat resistance and sensitivity to oxidation by sodium periodate. Clone B-D3 specifically detects surface exposed epitopes on major outer membrane protein (MOMP) from Chlamydia genus. It displays strong reactivity with Chlamydial serovars B, Ba, D, E, and L2 and weak reactivity with L1. MOMP, a cysteine-rich molecule, plays a vital role in maintaining the structural and functional properties of the chlamydial outer membrane. It contains determinants that confer type, subspecies, and species antigenic properties to the protein. It displays high sensitivity to heat and trypsin treatment that destroys MOMP epitopes recognized by this clone. (Ref.: Zhang, YX et al., (1987). J. Immunol. 138(2); 575-581).