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ELISAs based on recombinant antigens for sero-epidemiological studies on Toxoplasma gondii infections in cats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

A. M. Tenter ,
C. Vietmeyer ,
A. M. Johnson ,
K. Janitschke ,
M. Rommel  and
W. Lehmacher
A. M. Tenter
Affiliation:
Institut für Parasitologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
C. Vietmeyer
Affiliation:
Institut für Parasitologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
A. M. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Westbourne Street, Gore Hill, N.S.W. 2065, Australia.
K. Janitschke
Affiliation:
Robert Koch-Institut des Bundesgesundheitsamtes, Fachgebiet Klinische Parasitologie, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
M. Rommel
Affiliation:
Institut für Parasitologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany
W. Lehmacher
Affiliation:
Institut für Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany.
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Summary

Two recombinant Toxoplasma gondii polypeptides, H4 and H11, were tested as diagnostic antigens in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The results obtained by ELISAs based on single H4 (H4-ELISA), on single H11 (H11-ELISA) and on a mixture of H4 and H11 (H4/H11-ELISA) were compared with results obtained by an ELISA based on traditional ELISA antigen (TEA-ELISA), an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), the Sabin-Feldman dye test (SFDT) and a direct agglutination test (DAT). A total of 306 cats from a suburban cat population were tested of which about 45% showed serological evidence of T. gondii infection. Infection rates varied from about 32% for cats kept indoors to about 55% for stray cats. Specificities > 99% were observed for all ELISAs based on the recombinant antigens (H4-ELISA, H11-ELISA and H4/H11-ELISA). The H4/H11-ELISA also reached a sensitivity of 95% which compared very favourably with those observed for the TEA-ELISA (98%) and for the IFAT (94%). Negative and positive predictive values for the H4/H11-ELISA were 96 and < 99%, respectively. Antibody titres measured by the H4/H11-ELISA also correlated well with those measured by the SFDT and the DAT. Hence, the H4/H11-ELISA appears to be a very suitable test for sero-epidemiological studies on T. gondii infections in cats.

Keywords

recombinant antigensELISAepidemiologyToxoplasma gondiicats
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 109 , Issue 1 , July 1994 , pp. 29 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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