An Anti-Salmonella Antibody Prevents the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis from Infecting the Human Intestinal Epithelial Cell Line, Caco-2, by Interacting with Flagella

A polyclonal antibody of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE), designated RY542, inhibited SE from attaching to and invading the human intestinal epithelial cell line, Caco-2, in a dose-dependent manner. A major immunoreactive band of 55 kDa obtained in western blotting using RY542 was identified as FliC. An affinity-purified anti-flagellin antibody from RY542 similarly inhibited the infection. These results suggest that RY542 is a neutralizing antibody that blocks the infection of SE in Caco-2 cells by interacting with flagella, and that flagellin may potentially be useful as a component of a Salmonella vaccine.