We compared reactivity between Chlamydia serovar
antigens and sera from 18 patients using immunoblotting (IB) and
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The
antigens used were Chlamydia trachomatis serovar L2, D, E, and C organisms for IB and synthetic
peptides derived from C, E, G, and L2-VDIV genes for ELISA. Eleven of 12 sera collected from Chlamydia
antigen-positive women with
cervicitis strongly reacted with C. trachomatis serovar E, as did one serum with serovar C in immunoblotting profiles. ELISA coated individually with
peptides E and C strongly reacted with the sera of 6 different patients. The IB result between serovar L2, D, E, and C and sera from the 6 other women patients showed reactivity at E > or = D > or = L2 > or = C. ELISA using a synthetic
peptide mixture including C, E, G and L2
peptides gave positive results for all 18 sera. These results indicate that IB sensitivity differes with the C. trachomatis serovar
antigen used and that certain cases may produce inconsistent results between IB and ELISA. Results of ELISA and IB are thus not always consistent, indicating that different synthetic
peptides should be used in ELISA for detecting of low-level C. trachomatis
antibodies.