Quantitation of anti-Pneumocystis jiroveci antibodies in healthy persons and immunocompromised patients.

Abstract

To facilitate studies of the epidemiology of Pneumocystis jiroveci infection in both healthy persons and immunocompromised patients, we developed a quantitative ELISA with recombinant major surface glycoprotein (MSG) fragment MSG-14, a P. jiroveci-specific protein that includes a highly conserved region of the MSG protein family. By immunoblot, all samples reacted with the carboxyl portion of MSG-14; by ELISA, immunocompromised patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) who were immunocompromised for reasons other than AIDS had higher antibody levels than did either patients with AIDS with PCP (P=.01) or healthy persons (P=.005). Longitudinal observations of 8 patients with AIDS showed no correlation between time of diagnosis of Pneumocystis infection and change in antibody levels. Eleven percent (4/35) of healthy persons demonstrated a >4-fold change in antibody titers during 1 year of observation. This ELISA assay allows quantitation of anti-P. jiroveci antibodies in human serum samples and should be useful in better understanding the epidemiology of P. jiroveci infection in humans.

• Authors: Lisa R Bishop, Joseph A Kovacs
• Journal: The Journal of infectious diseases (J Infect Dis) Vol. 187 Issue 12 Pg. 1844-8 (Jun 15 2003) ISSN: 0022-1899 [Print] United States
• PMID: 12792860 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antibodies, Fungal
• Fungal Proteins
• Membrane Proteins

Topics

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (complications, immunology, microbiology)
• Adult
• Antibodies, Fungal (blood)
• Ascomycota (immunology)
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Female
• Fungal Proteins (immunology)
• Health
• Humans
• Immunocompromised Host (immunology)
• Male
• Membrane Proteins (immunology)
• Mycoses (complications, epidemiology, immunology, microbiology)