This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pfrepper, K.-I.
Right arrow Articles by Soutschek, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pfrepper, K.-I.
Right arrow Articles by Soutschek, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, August 2005, p. 977-982, Vol. 12, No. 8
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.8.977-982.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Seroreactivity to and Avidity for Recombinant Antigens in Toxoplasmosis

Klaus-Ingmar Pfrepper,1* Gisela Enders,2 Marion Gohl,2 Doris Krczal,2 Harald Hlobil,3 Doris Wassenberg,1 and Erwin Soutschek1

MIKROGEN molekularbiologische EntwicklungsGmbH, Neuried,1 Labor Prof. G. Enders und Partner and Institut für Virologie, Infektiologie und Epidemiologie e.V., Stuttgart,2 Laborärzte Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen, Germany3

Received 3 January 2005/ Returned for modification 16 February 2005/ Accepted 31 May 2005

To improve serodiagnostic methods for the diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, a new test system has been developed and evaluated based on the use of recombinant antigens. Five recombinant Toxoplasma gondii antigens (ROP1, MAG1, SAG1, GRA7, and GRA8) were cloned in Escherichia coli, purified, and applied directly onto nitrocellulose membranes in a line assay (recomLine Toxoplasma). A panel of 102 sera from 25 pregnant women with supposed recent toxoplasmosis and from two symptomatic children was compared to a panel of 71 sera from individuals with past infection. Both panels were analyzed using a recombinant line assay for immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies and a reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Within the IgM-positive samples, antibodies against ROP1 were predominant regardless of the infection state. In IgG analysis a characteristic antibody pattern was found for very recent infections. This pattern changed to a different one during the time course of infection: antibodies against GRA7 and GRA8 were characteristic for very early IgG, whereas antibodies against SAG1 and MAG1 appeared significantly later. These results were further confirmed by determination of the IgG antibody avidity for every single recombinant antigen. In the time course of infection, IgG antibodies against the early recognized antigens matured significantly earlier than those directed against the later antigens did. The IgA patterns did not give reliable information about the infection time points. The data revealed that the recombinant line assay provides valuable information on the actual state of infection, especially during the early infection time points.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: MIKROGEN GmbH, Floriansbogen 2-4, D-82061 Neuried, Germany. Phone: 49-89-54801-191. Fax: 49-89-54801-100. E-mail: pfrepper{at}mikrogen.de.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, August 2005, p. 977-982, Vol. 12, No. 8
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.8.977-982.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»