Humans Surviving Cholera Develop Antibodies against Vibrio cholerae O-Specific Polysaccharide That Inhibit Pathogen Motility
Richelle C. Charles, Meagan Kelly, Jenny M. Tam, Aklima Akter, Motaher Hossain, Kamrul Islam, Rajib Biswas, Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Fahima Chowdhury, Ashraful Islam Khan, Daniel T. Leung, Ana A. Weil, Regina C. LaRocque, Taufiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, Atiqur Rahman, Leslie M. Mayo-Smith, Rachel L. Becker, Jatin M. Vyas, Christina S. Faherty, Kourtney P. Nickerson, Samantha R. Giffen, Alaina S Ritter, Matthew K. Waldor, Peng Xu, Pavol Kováč, Stephen B. Calderwood, Robert C. Kauffman, Jens Wrammert, Firdausi Qadri, Jason B. Harris, Edward T. Ryan
Abstract
Cholera is a severe dehydrating illness of humans caused by Vibrio cholerae . V. cholerae is a highly motile bacterium that has a single flagellum covered in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) displaying O-specific polysaccharide (OSP), and V. cholerae motility correlates with its ability to cause disease. The mechanisms of protection against cholera are not well understood; however, since V. cholerae is a noninvasive intestinal pathogen, it is likely that antibodies that bind the pathogen or its products in the intestinal lumen contribute to protection from infection. Here, we demonstrate that OSP-specific antibodies isolated from humans surviving cholera in Bangladesh inhibit V. cholerae motility and are associated with protection against challenge in a motility-dependent manner.