Identification and characterization of antigenic epitope of Staphylococcus aureus ClfA adhesin

Staphylococcus aureus ClfA adhesin is a protective antigen that induces partial immunity against S. aureus infection in mice. To identify the antigenic epitope of ClfA, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) D01 against the recombinant protein was produced by the hybridoma technique. The mAb was used to immunoscreen a random phage-displayed peptide library as the immunogen. After three rounds of biopanning, 41 positive clones were identified. Sixteen phage clones were sequenced and their amino acids were deduced. One mimotope (SKVGIDKRRGTA) showed good match with ClfA adhesin at 383-394 aa and the serum of mice induced by the phage clone clearly recognized ClfA adhesin.