C-POLYSACCHARIDE IN A PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE

Abstract

The 14-valent pneumococcal vaccine, Pneumovax, was found to contain approximately 25 .mu.g/ml of the cell-wall antigen, C-polysaccharide (C-Ps), in addition to 100 .mu.g/ml of each of the 14 capsular polysaccharides. Rabbit anti-C-Ps antiserum recognized 4 components of this C-Ps with different antigenic determinants, corresponding to 4 fragments with different molecular sizes. Lectin affinity chromatography demonstrated that some of the C-Ps in the vaccine contained cell-wall residues. The methods used in this study can also be used for the characterization of other polysaccharide preparations.