Early Diagnosis for Anthrax
A new method enables reliable early detection of an anthrax infection. The diagnostics, based on an immunological procedure, were developed by a team from ETH Zurich, the Swiss Tropical Institute and the University of Bern.
For their test, the scientists led by Peter Seeberg produced an antibody against a carbohydrate consisting of four sugar building blocks on the surface of the anthrax pathogen. This polysaccharide contains the sugar building block anthrose, which is found nowhere else.
For this, the researchers needed a sufficient quantity of the quadruple sugar, which acts as an antigen. However, since it is difficult to isolate the molecule from the spore surface, Seeberger and his team replicated the sugar in the laboratory, linked it to a carrier protein, and injected mice with this conjugate. From one of the animals immunized in this way, the researchers were able to obtain monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to anthrax spores. However, they do not react to close relatives of the pathogen.
Spores of the anthrax pathogen Bacillus anthracis are a feared bioweapon. Once inhaled, they are almost always fatal if victims are not treated within 24 to 48 hours. For this reason, a rapid and reliable diagnosis for which these antibodies are to be used is particularly important.
