Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T12:34:21.333Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay for detecting IgM antibody in infants with the congenital rubella syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

J. E. Cradock-Watson ,
Margaret K. S. Ridehalgh ,
J. R. Pattison ,
Mary J. Anderson  and
H. O. Kangro
J. E. Cradock-Watson
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Withington Hospital, Manchester M20 8LR
Margaret K. S. Ridehalgh
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Withington Hospital, Manchester M20 8LR
J. R. Pattison
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Microbiology, King's College Hospital Medical School, London SE5 8RX
Mary J. Anderson
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Microbiology, King's College Hospital Medical School, London SE5 8RX
H. O. Kangro
Affiliation:
Department of Virology, The London Hospital Medical College, Turner Street, London E1 2AD
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Immunofluorescence (IF) and radioimmunoassay (RIA) have been compared as methods for detecting IgM antibody in 124 infants with confirmed or suspected congenital rubella. IF was used to test sucrose density gradient fractions and RIA to test fractions and whole serum.

When fractions were tested IF and RIA were equally specific and distinguished clearly between IgM and IgG, but RIA was the more sensitive method. The RIA titre in whole serum was always greater than in the peak IgM fraction and there was no evidence that testing the serum, rather than the fraction, could result in failure to detect IgM. With some sera RIA gave low titres which became negative after absorption with IgG-coated latex beads. The mechanism of this ‘false positive’ effect, which may have been due to IgM with anti-IgG activity, was not investigated, but if it can be removed by absorption it need not reduce the specificity of the test.

During the first 6 months of life IgM antibody was detected by RIA in 30 out of 32 unfractionated sera and by IF in fractions from 28 of these. After the age of 6 months IgM was found progressively less frequently and the greater sensitivity of RIA became a more obvious advantage: 17 out of 60 specimens were positive by RIA and 11 of these were negative by IF.

RIA testing of whole serum appears to be an economical, specific and sensitive method for detecting IgM antibody in congenital rubella, of particular value when the titre of antibody is low.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 83 , Issue 3 , December 1979 , pp. 413 - 423
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

References

Chantler, S., Devries, E., Allen, P. R. & Hurn, B. A. L. (1976). A rapid immunofluorescent procedure for the detection of specific IgG and IgM antibody in sera using Staphylococcus aureus and latex-IgG as absorbents. Journal of Immunological Methods 13, 367.Google Scholar
Cloonan, M. J., Hawkes, R. A. & Stevens, L. H. (1970). Postnatal decline of maternally acquired rubella antibodies. Journal of Hygiene 68, 461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cradock-Watson, J. E., Bourne, M. S. & Vandervelde, E. M. (1972). IgG, IgA and IgM responses in acute rubella determined by the immunofluorescent technique. Journal of Hygiene 70, 473.Google Scholar
Cradock-Watson, J. E., Ridehalgh, M. K. S. & Chantler, S. (1976). Specific immunoglobulins in infants with the congenital rubella syndrome. Journal of Hygiene 76, 109.Google Scholar
De Silva, L. M., Kampfner, G. L., Lister, C. M. & Tobin, J. O'H. (1977). Identification of pregnancies at risk from cytomegalovirus infection. Journal of Hygiene 79, 347.Google Scholar
Fraser, K. B., Shirodaria, P. V. & Stanford, C. F. (1971). Fluorescent staining of human IgM. British Medical Journal iii, 707.Google Scholar
Kalimo, K. O. K., Meurman, O. H., Halonen, P. E., Ziola, B. R., Viljanen, M. K., Granfors, K. & Toivanen, P. (1976). Solid-phase radioimmunoassay of rubella virus immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M antibodies. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 4, 117.Google Scholar
Kangro, H. O., Pattison, J. R. & Heath, R. B. (1978). The detection of rubella-specific IgM antibodies by radioimmunoassay. British Journal of Experimental Pathology 59, 577.Google ScholarPubMed
Karim, K. A. & Ludlam, G. B. (1975). The relationship and significance of antibody titres as determined by various serological methods in glandular and ocular toxoplasmosis. Journal of Clinical Pathology 28, 42.Google Scholar
Meurman, O. H., Viljanen, M. K. & Granfors, K. (1977). Solid-phase radioimmunoassay of rubella virus immunoglobulin M antibodies: comparison with sucrose density gradient centrifugation test. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 5, 257.Google Scholar
Pattison, J. R., Jackson, C. M., Hiscock, J. A., Cradock-Watson, J. E. & Ridehalgh, M. K. S. (1978). Comparison of methods for detecting specific IgM antibody in infants with congenital rubella. Journal of Medical Microbiology 11, 411.Google Scholar
Reimer, C. B., Black, C. M., Phillips, D. J., Logan, L. C., Hunter, E. F., Pender, B. J. & Mcgrew, B. E. (1975). The specificity of fetal IgM: antibody or anti-antibody? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 254, 77.Google Scholar
Urquhart, G. E. D., Logan, R. W. & Izatt, M. M. (1971). Sudden unexplained death in infancy and hyperimmunization. Journal of Clinical Pathology 24, 736.Google Scholar